


Stand up Strong

by curimuch



Series: Book 1 (Mother 3 alternate reality fan novel) [1]
Category: Mother 3
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Family, Friendship, Gen, Psychological Drama, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-21
Updated: 2012-09-21
Packaged: 2017-11-14 17:18:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 28
Words: 70,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/517652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curimuch/pseuds/curimuch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The twins had gone from being apart of a supporting family of four, to an intense struggle of growing up and surviving as a pair. No matter the odds, they still try to defend themselves against the army until the time comes to fight for their freedom. [completed]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the updated version of Stand up Strong. For comparison purposes, the Fanfiction.net version will remain unchanged. Differences are minor but there's a little retcon between the two. (I changed the length of time between them.) I also combined shorter chapters into one chapter, hence why it says 28 instead of 30 like it had on ffnet. (2&3 and 9&10) This will also be bundled with "The Seven senses" and "Safe" as a series. The next installment (May or may not still be called Audacious March.) will be a series of its own; sort of like a 'book two'. Good to be started on this again. o/

There are a handful of days every child cherishes enough to go crazy in joy about. However, only one of the two children ran around in celebration that he finally reached ten years of age. His mother fanned herself as she relaxed in a rocking chair; fatigued from the heat wave and her energetic son running around the house in glee. It was only early in the morning, and she could imagine it either staying this hot or getting hotter as the day ran on.

"Claus, honey, aren't you tired from the heat?"

"Heat can't stop me! Heat can't stop me!" He panted while he jogged in place. He had no idea what exactly this tumbling feeling in the pit of his stomach was or why it was causing him to sprint all over the family room, but whatever it was it felt _great,_ and running around made it feel even better. Hinawa sighed and fanned herself more. She knew she had to get up to not only make their favorite omelet dishes, she had to bake their cake too. She could swear it was hot enough for the cake to bake and the eggs to fry without the aid of the stove.

She warned as she gotten up, "don't get dehydrated, dear." Before she made her way over to the kitchen.

"I won't, ma!" Claus sang as he danced in place, no where close to burning off all his endless energy.

The red-headed twin ran up the stairs in a fit of laughter; a sign of ominous things to come for some. One of his favorite things to do was pounce on the unsuspecting, and his sleeping brother was currently a perfect target. Reaching their room, he saw messy blonde hair buried under their covers. He smirked as he crept his way to the bed. His grin was large with mischief, but he did not remove the pillow from his face. Once ready, he shouted as loud as he could, "hey, Lucas!" The blonde boy only turned over with a murmur and sighed; it looked like he slipped into an even deeper sleep. Claus snorted and decided to pounce after all and with a statement. "Get up! I'm not letting you sleep in today!"

Lucas cried and pulled Claus off the bed with him. They landed with a heavy thud onto the floor, and despite the rough fall, Claus howled in laughter. Lucas looked up at him with pained teary eyes. Claus snickered and ruffled his brother's already messy hair in response.

"Don't cry today! We finally made it!"

"Made what..?" Lucas asked. His voice softer than usual.

He grinned and answered with another shout, "we're ten, Lucas! We're finally double digit!" He shook his sleepy brother's shoulders gently for emphasis.

"…Huh? What does it mean, then? I'm-" Lucas yawned in-between sentences as he rubbed his eyes, "not following the big deal…"

"We're another step to becoming closer to being grown up! And to the big opened door to uh…" he trailed off in thought before continuing. "Um… stuff that we can't do now!"

"I think," Lucas yawned once more, "being an adult is harder… more dangerous… and probably full of unpleasant and awkward situations.

"And being a kid isn't hard, unpleasant, and awkward?" Claus asked. Lucas shrugged in response; his senses still weren't fully awakened. "What about not knowing the answer to a question in front of everyone? Or even…" His stare darkened and awoke Lucas with slight fear of what he might say next. "Bed wetting?" Claus made his twin as red as the summer tomatoes out in the field of their house with the last statement.

"I-I thought we said we would never bring that up again, Claus!" Lucas whined as his eyes welled up with more tears; this time, in embarrassment. Claus covered his smirk with his hand to hide his amusement, but the effort was in vain because he was still lightly slapped on the head.

"Oh come on! It's not like I have never before either!"

"But you laugh because you did way less than I did a long time ago!"

He continued to hold in his childish snickers for the sake of his sensitive brother, but even when he tried, they still slipped out when he spoke.

"But, but..! We're over that now!"

"And we'll never bring that up again! Pinky swear!" Lucas demanded with his pinky finger out.

The older brother gripped the younger's pinky. After the contact, Claus got a suspicious grin on his face and said, "remember the time when Boney pulled down your shorts in front of Ritchie—"

"Augh!" Lucas cried and ran out of the room and down the stairs. Claus burst into a fit of laughter. He rolled on the floor as he held onto his pained ribs.

"L-Lucas!" He heaved as he tried to get up, his eyes full of tears but from laughing so hard. "I-It's not so bad! Ahaha!" He felt pains in his stomach from the laughter. He knew he was going to feel sorry for this later in the day. There was nothing worse for him than making his gentle and tender brother cry.

 .-.-.-.-.

Claus was scolded by his mother once he reached the bottom of the stairs, but he didn't mind because he saw it coming from a long shot. Lucas was still recovering from it as he ate his large omelet. To Claus it looked like it was doing a good job of cheering him up.

"So, Lucas, when are you going to finish that there omelet of yours?" He wanted to run outside to burn and brag the day away, so he could come back to some cake and bounce off the walls some more.

"I rather savor it…" Lucas muttered with his mouth covered to not show what was now chewed. Claus released a bored sigh and began to scribble with the leftover ketchup in his plate. "I guess I can eat faster.”

"No, don't want you to choke or anything…" Lucas nodded with a false sense of agreement but did eat faster for his twin, he knew how much he wanted to go out and play. Once finished, he hopped out of the tall dining chair and headed his way back up stairs. "Don't take too long, Lucas!" Claus reminded, knowing full well how Lucas was with his hair.

"I won't!" He replied from upstairs. Entering the room again, he gathered his favorite shorts, shirt, and sneakers that were neatly placed aside as always. After getting dressed, all that was left was his hair. As much as he wanted to fix it into a unique style, especially for his birthday, he knew Claus would complain and decided against it. "Maybe next year…" he sighed and tried to settle for something simpler.

"Hey, Lucas! You're taking _forever!_ "

"I am not!" The embarrassed boy retorted and quickly placed the brush aside in case Claus came in. He rushed out the door and slammed his head into the other's hard head. "Ow!"

"Ah, you klutz!" Claus playfully said and held onto Lucas to prevent him from falling down the stairs. He chuckled when his twin regained his balance and sheepishly rubbed his head.

"You're always tripping and running into people."

"I…I know. I have to work on that."

"Ah well, let's finally hit the road, Lucas!" He cheered and grabbed his younger twin's hand. He marched down the stairs and looked around to see if his mother or his father were around. When they weren't, he gave the door a swift kick and stated, "the best way to greet the world on a special day!" and ran outside.

"You're not supposed to kick the door, mom said…" The docile one of the pair informed from inside the house. He saw the heat waves from outside and became hesitant.

"No, I'm not supposed to kick the door _when they're around_." Claus replied teasingly, fully knowing Lucas was far more obedient than he was. He looked at his twin frown at him in disapproval but it only made him snicker and wave. "Oh come on outside already, Lucas!"

Lucas hid behind the door frame, and lowly whined, "but it's really hot…" Claus crossed his arms and sternly stared at his brother, and Lucas meekly stared back. Eventually, he gave in and sighed, "okay…" In defeat, plain niceness, and care for Claus, he walked out into the merciless sun.

His hand was grabbed and he was yanked down the dirt road with his brother cheering, "alright, let's go tell everyone!" Lucas then wished he brought a canister or two of water with him, knowing full well that Claus would want to rush throughout Tazmilly in this heat.

 .-.-.-.-.

Later in the evening and back at home, Lucas was slumped into his chair as he waited for dinner. He was so exhausted.

"Honey, I know you're tired, but please sit up at the dinner table."

Lucas being the obedient child that he was, sat up as much as he could. He tried his best not to rest on the table, he knew it would displease his mother and just listened to keep peace and lessen conflict. His brother, who always sat right besides him, was bouncing in his chair for dinner which would later lead to cake. Deep down Lucas wished that his mother would save the cake for tomorrow. He didn't think Claus needed anything else that'd give him more fuel to burn. He couldn't take it anymore and just wanted to curl up into his bed and sleep.

"Mom, we'll get cake after this, right?" Claus felt otherwise.

"Yes, but only a small slice until tomorrow."

Lucas sighed heavily at the fact that his mom was willing to give cake out tonight. When he received confused looks from his family, he sheepishly waved and stated, "J-just really tired…drained…you know…"

"Ah," Flint replied and reached for the dinner plate Hinawa handed to him. She then handed the twins their food and sat down herself.

"There, a special dinner for my special children's special day"

"Gee, mom, that's sure a lot of specials!" Claus laughed at his mother highly amused. He was also over-joyed by the dinner she had made. Lucas ate silently and sleepily. He worried he was coming off as rude, but he felt too tired to talk. He had a feeling of his senses ebbing away. "Hey, Lucas! You're pretty quiet!" Claus observed as Lucas slowly continued to eat, somewhat ignoring him. Lucas didn't mean to come off as ignoring, he just didn't notice him. Claus on the other hand, felt like he was being ignored and gave Lucas a quick jab to the waist for attention.

"Ghh!" Lucas choked. He didn't know what to do as he watched his family panic and get up from their chairs.

"Try patting his back, Claus!" Hinawa cried out. For once, he did what his mother told him to do, but it only seemed to make things worse.

"I-I don't think it helped, mom!" Claus shrieked, frightened to see Lucas keeling over a piece of bread roll. Flint calmly moved Claus aside to get a hold of Lucas. In a matter of seconds, the bread roll flew out of Lucas's mouth and onto the center of the table. Lucas gasped for air he now held even more precious than he had ever did before. After a few breathers, his father then patted him on the head to reassure him that he was okay again and returned to his seat.

"I'm so sorry, Lucas!" Claus sincerely apologized, and this time, _hugged_ the air out of Lucas. "Sorry…" he repeated as he continued to hug his apologies into twin. Lucas could only weakly pet Claus's hair with a nervous laugh, hoping that this was a good enough hint for him to let go.

"You're squeezing the air out of him, Claus. Just sit down and finish your dinner," Flint advised.

"…Oh." And as he released him, he laughed bashfully and sat back down.

"…I think we can hold out from the cake tonight…" Hinawa stated as she returned to her meal.

"…Aaaaaw." Claus whined, losing the will to finish his vegetables.

When finished, Lucas asked, "May I be excused? I want to go to bed now." When his mother nodded, he went up stairs and shed his clothes to the floor instead of placing them aside where they belong. When he slipped back into his pajamas, he flopped onto his ever more comfortable bed. Claus decided to bounce around more down stairs taking advantage of his parents' promise that he could stay up a little later than usual on certain days such as a birthday.

Like with most privileges, Claus blew it and made them reconsider the next 'special day' rules.


	2. Chapter 2

Claus had woken up fourteen minutes ago; he counted. Even though he was awake, he didn't leave the bed because the sun hadn't signaled for him to yet; he never got up unless the sun shined on the bed. He was admittedly fidgety this morning because it was the day after 'the big ten'. He was a little amazed his twisting and turning didn't even make Lucas flinch.

"Sloth," Claus mumbled as he boredly played with his sleeping twin's hair. He sighed heavily and rolled onto his back when Lucas hardly responded to him. "So bored. Hurry up, sun!" he whined and squirmed in the bed. The day never felt right when he got up before the sun, and as painful as the wait was, he was going to wait it out. But during his wait, his clumsy twin had rolled out of the bed with a very loud thud.

"Owww!"

Claus was ready to laugh until he heard sniffles quickly start from his fallen twin. It was always the sniffles and tears that kept his laughter at bay. In a form of consolation, he rolled out of the bed and fell with an equally loud thud. He too, wailed, "Oww!" Lucas wiped his eyes and looked down at his older brother who was grinding his teeth and rubbing his head.

"What'd you do that for..?"

"Pain share," he answered and kept rubbing his head. As he continued to rub his head he thought, "Lucas must've fell on his butt or something…" when the throbbing pain of his head continued to throb.

Lucas replied, "I don't get it, but okay…" and chuckled only a little bit. Most of the time he never understood Claus, especially when he would mimic his accidents for whatever reason. Claus happily laughed that he had quickly stopped his tears and managed to get a chuckle out of him in the process. Before he knew it, the sun had finally shined through on the both of them.

"Oh, the sun's here," Lucas observed. He wasn't as excited as Claus, but he liked the sun just as much as he did. Claus sprung up to his feet in one literal movement and ran out the room with his arms stretched out like an airplane. Lucas knew that in a matter of minutes, as little as ten, Claus would be back, and if he was in bed, he would whine for him to get up and go outside with him. At the moment, Lucas didn't feel the need to get dressed since Claus hadn't, and walked out of the room to see where he had ran off to. Down stairs, he saw him jumping at the measuring wall and it had finally dawned Lucas what his older twin was over-blowing next.

"Height."

"Yes!" His energetic brother confirmed and waved for his lazier half to come over.

Even though Lucas didn't understand the big deal of the things Claus has been bloating up lately, he didn't mind going along with them. He made his way over to the wall and stood next to him, his posture was straight and calm as he waited for his mom to come by with their father's old knife to mark the wall. He directed his eyes to Claus to see the huge smile on his face as his twin tried to stay as straight as possible and not fidget.

"Alright, your brother wants to be measured. He wants to see how much of a little man he's become," Hinawa cooed at them as she made her way over to them.

"I'm not going to be so little anymore~," Claus sang with anticipation.

Hinawa first marked Claus' height to put him at ease.

"Oh, you did grow, Claus! Congrats!" Hinawa giggled and steadied the mark above Lucas head as she measured. Finally, she cut the mark and put the age next to them both. "Well, what do you know? Lucas is taller than you, Claus."

Lucas released a tiny gasp and covered his mouth with his finger tips, surprised that he out done Claus in something. Claus was not used to this and shrieked, "what?"

"He's taller than you. Go ahead and face each other as I place my hands on top of your heads," Hinawa instructed teasingly. Claus quickly stepped in front of his younger twin, his mouth twitching into a huge frown. Hinawa placed her hands on the top of her sons heads and then stepped back to show where her hands were. Lucas was indeed taller, and a noticeable taller. The difference wasn't a huge one, but you can see he was somewhat taller than the older twin.

"Noooo!" Claus cried out and stared at the markings on the wall. Lucas had nothing to say, but he did display a bit of an ego boost with his smile hidden behind his frail and paler hand.

Hinawa patted Claus on the head and stated, "Lucas does finish his vegetables and doesn't eat as much desserts as you, dear."

"But, mother, you're taller than dad and people say I take after you," Lucas said in response to her idea of what made him taller than Claus. He indirectly made things worse for Claus.

"Well, that is true…" When a deep and calm chuckle came from behind the three, they turned to see Flint smiling at his family.

"Oh, dad, did you hear? I'm taller than Claus," Lucas informed his father with a proud smile. He was happy that he had out-did Claus in something and hoped his father would acknowledge it.

"I heard, but the two of you need to know that height isn't everything." Lucas frowned a little bit that he didn't get the answer that he was looking for, while Claus was sitting down with his head low in defeat.

"Oh, of course you say that when I'm the taller one," Hinawa laughed and took off her husband's hat and placed it on the stand.

Claus looked up at his parents with the biggest frown that anyone had seen him with and asked, in a nervously shaky voice, "…am I going to be bald like him too?

Claus wasn't sure if the laughter from Hinawa or the disgruntled look on Flint's face was a 'yes' or a 'no'.

.-.-.-.-.

Once Claus had gotten over himself and stuffed his face with breakfast, he was ready to blow away Tazmilly again. Lucas however, was the gentle breeze no one noticed unless pointed out. He was upstairs stretching and yawning, wanting to sleep-in just a little more. He had hoped that he had snuck away from Claus just this once and that he would just go do his thing alone... But before he had knew it, his shirt was being yanked off of him.

"What ten year old sleeps in?" Claus scolded and chucked Lucas's pajama shirt in a random direction.

"Meeee," the sleepy boy answered and grabbed for the bed.

"Nuh uh," Claus said and pulled Lucas by the waist to the dresser. He had a tight grip around Lucas' waist with one arm, and another arm digging around for a shirt to put on Lucas.

Lucas thought that when Claus had let him go for a brief second he had changed his mind, but again, predictions were wrong and he was blinded by Claus roughly putting a shirt on him.

"C-Claus! My hair! My hair!"

"You and your hair, Lucas," Claus sighed. As he continued to try to get Lucas's fluffy hair through the head-hole, he mumbled, "You're not a girl, y'know."

"Hey! Boys can have nice hair too!" Lucas protested and wiggled out of Claus's rough hold. What was taking Claus minutes took Lucas ten seconds to put on. He gave his brother the strongest glare that he could, but even then it was just a halfhearted glare. Claus rolled his eyes and tossed a pair of shorts at Lucas for him to catch. As Lucas slowly put on his shorts, Claus sat besides him and scratched his messy red hair, only to make it messier. Lucas looked over to his twin and grabbed for a hair brush. As he reached for it, he pleaded, "…Just…let me brush it, Claus. Please."

"If you want. I don't really care," Claus shrugged and crossed his arms. That little action wound up showing that he did care.

Though Lucas did not want to bring displeasure to Claus, he just couldn't take his messy hair. Every brush through Claus's fluffy hair was gentle and slow. Despite the different colors, they were the same, just how they handled their hair differently, along with the color, made people think otherwise. Despite Claus's hair being in his care, Lucas knew not to go over the top with it. Even though he brushed it with great care, the style he gave Claus was neat and simple.

"See? Now the poof on the top of your head is really cute!" Lucas complimented as he aimed to brush his own hair.

Claus snorted at both Lucas's compliment and at his rosy cheeks he saw in the mirror. As much as he wanted to complain about how he didn't want to be cute, he didn't know how to voice it. He instead said, "I'll be waiting down stairs," very quickly and left as quickly with his head low to hide his colored cheeks.

Lucas took a seat and brushed his hair to be in the same, but mirrored, style


	3. Chapter 3

After yesterday, Lucas decided to make the hair thing a habit. It took brushing Claus's hair again to do it, but Claus cooperated despite the embarrassment. Claus noticed that whatever the reason was, letting his twin brush his hair and match together made Lucas happier. He didn't understand it like how he didn't understand girls, and Lucas done, behaved, and liked a lot of things girls did. Claus had made sure to remind Lucas what was on his mind often, but it never really gone through to his twin very often. Sometimes he did, but the conversation wouldn't make it very far because of the differences.

And it frustrated him.

"Hey, Lucas!"

"Hey, Fuel's down the road, Claus!" Lucas exclaimed and ran to someone he openly considered his best friend.

He couldn't help but be a little frustrated with Fuel when it came to Lucas as well. He wasn't sure what it was, but he heard the older women who were just as confusing as the younger girls his age call it 'jealousy'. Whatever it _really_ was, he didn't like how it felt every time it seemed like he got along with Fuel more than him at times. He took his time to meet up with Fuel compared to Lucas' sprint because he was into his own little world of frustrated thoughts. But when he got to the pair, it didn't seem like the two paid much attention to him.

He almost wanted to just go home.

He let the two chatter as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, unsure if he was waiting for them to notice him.

"Claus?" Lucas asked as he tilted his head. He noticed that his stuffy twin seemed uncomfortable again, but he didn't notice that this kind of discomfort only happened when his best friend was around. Maybe because it was only when the blonde was in the middle of the two.

Claus answered a little quietly, "yeah?" while fidgeting his foot into the dirt road.

"Did you forget something?" Lucas asked when he noticed Claus digging in his pockets.

"Or forgot to use the bathroom?" Fuel obliviously asked when he observed Claus' fidgeting. It wouldn't have been the first time Claus had, at least.

"No, and no," Claus answered and walked ahead. "It's nothin', let's just go on ahead," he stated and kept on walking with his hands still in his pockets.

Lucas and Fuel looked at one another confused, but followed along to not get left behind.

.-.-.-.-.

The trio had stopped at a shallow river stream with nothing to do. They've never been in such a situation of 'nothing to do' because Claus was normally bustling with ideas. Now he had his back turned to them at the river stream skipping stones by himself. Both Fuel and Lucas were confused and genuinely concerned, but neither of them knew what to do or say. Claus was always the know-how and lead-to guy, so this was new to the both of them. Fuel sighed, "first her, now Claus…"

"Her?" Lucas asked curiously and his eyes shined just as curiously.

Fuel was a little alarmed by his normally reserved friend's excited curiosity and bright eyes. Normally Claus was like this, but Fuel figured that Lucas had a clue what he meant. "Angie," he answered.

"Oh, you like-!" Lucas almost exclaimed too loudly for Fuel's l iking and had his mouth playfully but urgently covered. Claus turned around with a questioning brow and a confused expression that looked like he was more annoyed. When Fuel nervously laughed off Claus slightly nerve-wrecking expression, Claus turned his head away to hide his _now_ furrowed brows.

The next rock he thew plopped into the water without a single skip.

While he sighed, Fuel saw that Lucas was looking over at Claus with worry. He knew that the red-head would tie up his attention for a long time and wanted to get his conversation out first.

"Wait… You know what I mean, right?"

Lucas nodded and whispered, "you like Angie, right?"

Fuel shyly nodded and whispered, "yeah…but I don't know what to do or say and stuff…"

Lucas frowned and truthfully responded with, "I don't know either, Fuel…"

Claus was getting more annoyed as their whispered conversation continued. This was something he did with Lucas fairly often, and he didn't really appreciate him doing so with Fuel. The two of them were developing their own secret language, even! He made sure to note to never share that language with anyone, not even Fuel.

Fuel was still full of hope with getting help from Lucas, because he was pretty much knitted with all the girls rather than the boys of town. Fuel grabbed Lucas' shoulder with a hopeful smile and asked, "you can do this favor for me right? I really trust you…"

"Uh, yes. I think, but…what is it that you want?" Lucas asked.

Fuel whispered his request, finished with an audible, "don't tell anyone," and locked pinkies with Lucas.

Claus felt like something had snapped inside once he heard the 'don't tell anyone' comment. He abruptly got up from his lone rock chucking and stared the both of them down, along with those locked pinkies he hated. His twin told him everything, and Fuel dares break that code that he felt no other person could possibly ever understand because they were the only twins ever.

"I know what you're thinking, Claus, but no," Fuel stated and frowned at his other friend. Claus was unaware to this fact, but Fuel thought of the twins equally. There were just some things he felt he could not tell his other friend. As his angry frown deepened, he crossed his arms. He had no words for the building rage he felt toward Fuel and this entire situation. "No," Fuel repeated. Claus's expression hardened to the hardest and angriest that Lucas had ever saw his twin with, and it worried him so badly that he didn't know what to do. As the two stared off like a western showdown, Lucas decided to step in-between the two of them and suggest that they head to town and see if anything of interest would come to any of them.

Claus didn't appreciate the dodging but went along with it anyway. He stood between Lucas so that Fuel could whisper no more to him.

 .-.-.-.-.

Over the course of the day nothing of interest came. It was dusk and Fuel had already went home a little disgruntled with Claus' attitude.

The way Claus's eyebrows were twitching and wrinkling, along with a frown that spoke many emotions, made things indirectly appear to Lucas. To the softer natured boy, it seemed that his short fused twin was ready to cry about the mini argument he had with Fuel, when really, it was from everything that he felt. Feelings Lucas wasn't exactly aware of what they were or that Claus even had them, just that he knew Claus was severely upset. He currently had no words he thought would be of help and hugged his brother gently instead. The gentle hug was tight enough to pull his warmth into his, and that their hearts were able to beat against the other.

"I hope you feel better…" Lucas murmured as he rubbed his head against Claus. He didn't feel like those words were enough, but he was never one with words and figured that his brother knew that. He was happy that Claus had hugged back. Tighter than he would've liked, but Claus appreciated the hug, he was sure.

Even though Claus cried anyway.


	4. Chapter 4

Early in the morning, Claus was reluctantly heading his way to Fuel's house. Originally, he was going to go swing off of trees, but Lucas made him go visit Fuel instead.

And alone no less!

Lucas had told him that Fuel wanted to show them both something he thought was cool, but Lucas also wanted to help their mother with knitting and cleaning, so he sent him to go alone instead.

"Wanting to clean? Seriously? Geeze…" Claus grumbled and continued to kick a medium sized pebble to keep him company on the walk. He had the choice to decline his twin's request, but not only did he feel he needed to get on Lucas's good side, he wanted to be nice. Even though he was totally oblivious to Fuel considering him a friend and Lucas loving him as much as he always had. "Not that I'm curious or anything…" Claus tried to convince himself once he was close to Fuel's home.

Fuel didn't give his spunky friend the chance to knock on the door, he shouted up from his window, "Hey, Claus! I'll be down right away!"

As much as Claus wanted to snort and say 'whatever', he tried to his best ability to seem as casual and unbiased as possible. Once Fuel opened the door, he flashed a toothy grin, something he was known for amongst all of Tazmilly. He greeted, "Hey, Fuel," easily by default. When he relaxed a bit, he realized meeting up with him wasn't so bad already.

"So... where's Lucas?" Fuel asked. He hoped that Claus would not get upset at the question.

"He wanted to help mom clean," Claus answered and shrugged as to say, 'I don't get it either.'

Fuel frowned and replied, "Well…okay. He probably wouldn't have found it as cool as we would've, anyway."

Whatever Fuel had to show piqued Claus interest.

"…Is it like a really huge mud slide?"

"Good one, but nope!"

"…Hmm…" Claus hummed as he thought of the many things Lucas disliked. But he also had to put into consideration on the possibility of 'kind-of' like as well. But during his brain cranking Fuel called him out of his thoughts.

"Don't spend time thinking about it! Let me show ya!" He exclaimed and ran on ahead, indirectly initiating a race with the ever competitive Claus. Once Fuel had reached where he wanted to be, he slowed to a halt and waited for Claus to stop by shortly after. "Here we are," he stated and rustled the bush.

"What? Is there something in it?"

"Nope," Fuel responded and snapped off two branches from it. He turned to Claus and presented the tube like stems and said, "This thing is like a pre-set up and loaded blow gun bush thing!"

"Oooh really?" Claus asked as he took one of the tube stems and examined it. He then walked over to the bush and peeled back a leafy branch absolutely covered in berries.

"Wow..! You're right, Fuel! And the berries are kinda big so it'd make a perfect splatter!"

"Yes! Exactly!" Fuel agreed and started to mass pluck the berries into a waist pouch of his. "Any ideas on what we should splat?"

"More like _who_ we should splatter, Fuel…" Claus snickered and mass picked berries into his own pouch thankful he brought along.

.-.-.-.-.

Back at the cozy homes of Hinawa and Flint's, Lucas was on top of Hinawa's shoulders as he helped dust off the top of tall shelves of the home. He smiled when he heard his mother giggle a 'thank you' to him. He was always happy to make his Mother's life easier since she always does so much for him. Whenever Hinawa wobbled, he worried if he was putting too much weight on his fragile mother. He asked, "I'm not too heavy am I, mama?"

"Of course not, sweetie. Just when you're dusting the dust our balance sync changes a bit."

"Oooh, okay. Thank goodness I'm done then!" He playfully stated and climbed down from his mother as carefully as he could. He gave her a grin and Hinawa gave him one in return.

"It's amazing how much dust can accumulate in such a short time! Luckily we do a scrub down of the whole house every month, huh, Lucas?"

"Yes. I hope to maintain a really clean house like yours," Lucas replied and squeezed his mother's hand with approval.

"I'm sure you will, Lucas," Hinawa said and patted her neat son's head with her free hand.

Lucas, eager to help out more, asked, "Is there anything else we can do?"

"You wanted to practice knitting with me, didn't you?"

"Oh! That's right, I did…" Lucas murmured while he bit his thumb.

"But before that, Lucas…" Hinawa started her unfinished sentence to get Lucas' attention. Once he looked up at her, she continued with a question, "What about Claus? Aren't you going to catch up to him?"

Lucas shook his head and answered, "Nope! I wanted him to play with Fuel alone because I think he felt left out when Fuel and I talked too much about stuff he wouldn't want to talk about. He probably thought Fuel liked me more or I liked Fuel more. At least, that's what I think," Lucas explained to his mother.

"Aw, I see…" Hinawa answered and brushed her hand through Lucas' hair. "So that's what he was upset about?"

Lucas tilted his head in thought and replied, "At least that's what I think it is…"

"Don't worry, dear. You know how quickly Claus moves in general. I'm sure he's fine already."

Lucas nodded in agreement. He then gently pulled her hand to where the knitting set was and said, "Let's get to that practicing!"

.-.-.-.-.

Already Claus has splatted his first victim Ritchie. He used the biggest berries he had in his pouch. It splattered all over her hair which rose a shriek of disgust from her and a roll of laughters from Claus. To his luck, Claus was the fastest child runner in Tazmilly and effortlessly got away from Ritchie's balled fists. He got punched by her before, and he remembered how much it hurt, and enough to make his nose drip a little blood.

Fuel wasn't so lucky.

"Good gracious, her punches hurt!" he whined and rubbed his now badly bruised arm.

"At least it wasn't your face," Claus snorted and readied to aim for his next hit.

Fuel whispered to Claus, "Are you going for Brenda?"

"Yeah, totally. Her face is huge!" He chuckled and fired away.

"Oh my word! What is this vile slime on my face?!"

Fuel and Claus tried to conceal their laughter as they snuck away behind signs and other objects. To their luck, Brenda was too disgusted and enraged to notice them, and other people minding their own business was alarmed by her volume. Once the two rascals got comfortable elsewhere, they waited for another female to stroll by. They only pelted the females with berries because they knew that they would give desired reactions, and that they were the enemy; well, partially on Fuel's case. When he saw Angie walking by as elegantly as always, he bit on the tube stem in shock.

Claus on the other hand gotten a sly cat-like grin when he saw the little-lady of Tazmilly reaching blasting range. He took a deep breather and was ready to shoot until Fuel plugged the other end of the straw. Claus was surprised and wound up swallowing the two berries by accident. When his throat cleared he practically yelled, "What was that for?!"

"No! Not Angie! She's…too—too pretty!"

"That's the gold of it! Now she's gone!"

"Not Angie!"

"Why?"

"Just 'cause!"

"Damn it, Fuel!"

"You're not supposed to swear!" Fuel was strongly against swearing, even if his old man done so on every other occasion. He was getting ready to chew out Claus more until he noticed his tongue hurting and stuck it out. He noticed it was starting to change color. "…Ow what is this? My tongue hurts!"

Fuel wasn't the only one aching, it wasn't his tongue, but more so his stomach. Claus groaned, "Your tongue..? That's nothin'…my stomach feels like it's gonna explode…"

Fuel was beginning to freak at the change of color of his tongue. He hoped it wouldn't get big enough to choke him. He wound up wailing in the open about his sore and swelling tongue in panic while Claus rolled over and wrapped his arms around his bloating and aching stomach.

.-.-.-.-.

While Hinawa and Lucas were peacefully knitting little practice cloth squares, Flint came in with a bit of a ruckus. The two of them looked to see Flint holding a groaning and crying Claus in his arms. He was holding his stomach and squirming in his father's hold. "He got poisoned, Hinawa," he informed and hurriedly bought him over to her.

She quickly made it to her boy as well and patted his forehead for a temperature. She shrieked, "He's burning up!"

Lucas dropped his knitted square and ran over to the commotion and worriedly examined his crying brother who rarely ever cried.

"What did you eat, Claus?" Flint practically demanded out of the boy.

Claus panted as he tried to answer. It took a few moments for him to get out, "I... accidentally swallowed some of these... thick berries from this bush Fuel found…" he whined and wailed when he felt his stomach bloat even more.

"Flint, go find Fuel and Lighter and then try to identify the bush!" Hinawa ordered and held Claus into her arms. She held onto the back of his head when he howled in pain from being moved so suddenly. Flint nodded and rushed out of the door.

"W-what…What should I do?" Lucas asked. He couldn't stand seeing Claus in so much pain.

"Soak a rag with cold water!" she informed and carried Claus as carefully to the upper rooms as she could.

Lucas got the rag and folded it as perfectly as he could before he placed it on his brother's steaming hot forehead. He was so heart-broken to see his brother barely open his eyes; Claus's eyes were tightly shut as he panted in pain. Lucas had bought an extra cloth to dab all the sweat droplets away, even if they seemed to be endless. He wanted to try and make Claus as cool and comfortable as he could. He was surprised when Claus tightly squeezed on his free hand, but couldn't speak.

Lucas tightly squeezed it back.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a literal twenty-four hours since the berry incident. Claus didn't count minute by minute this time, but he saw from the setting sun and the clock near the bed that it had been. He felt only a little better since then, but nothing that made much of a difference. He rested on his stomach the entire time beside the occasional bathroom run.

"It's better than puking at least…" he reminded himself and shifted to his other side. Staring out of the window pained him because he felt like the day and perfect weather was wasted laying around or running to the bathroom. He also had mixed feelings about Lucas staying inside with him all day too. He appreciated that Lucas stayed with him, but he doesn't like the idea of not going outside at all. He believed a person should go out for fifteen minutes at the least, and again, he was hit by mixed feelings.

He was now wondering where Lucas was.

Lucas never ate dinner for very long, and with Claus being sick, he'd figured he would be upstairs to keep him company quickly… Which only meant one thing.

"Dessert…" Claus whined into his pillow in misery. Very rarely does he miss dessert, it was one of his motivations to be more on the 'good boy' side! He couldn't help but wonder what it was that they had. He couldn't tell, it was hard to smell cooking at the upper floors of the house, especially with most of his face on the pillow from laying on his belly all the time.

"Are you okay, Claus..? I brought some tea for you…" Lucas said in a gentle tone accented with concern. He mistook Claus's whines for physical pain when they were really whines of disappointment.

"Meh…tea…" Claus mumbled and sighed a little too hard that he winced in pain.

Lucas rushed over to him as quickly as he could without spilling a drop of the tea. He placed it on the counter and said, "It's peppermint, though."

"…What's the difference then?"

"It tastes different, obviously," he replied and took a seat in a chair facing the bed.

"You know what I mean…" Claus murmured and frowned at the sarcastic reply he was given.

Lucas felt a little bad that his sick twin had frowned at him like that. To try and make things better, as he was intending to do to begin with, he said, "It tastes much 'better' than the ginger, though. It won't have as an relaxing effect the ginger has… but it's the closest thing to a treat you can get for now," he finished and blew some of the heat from the tea away. He personally liked ginger more than the peppermint, but he figured whatever he liked more, Claus liked less.

Claus didn't really trust the peppermint tea ever since he drank that ginger tea yesterday. That ginger tea was his first impression on teas. It did make his stomach relax a great deal, but despite the liquid being incredibly thin and clear-looking, he thought the taste was perplexing and it left a bit of a bite in his throat each sip. When he looked at the peppermint tea, he didn't like that it was darker and looked thicker. He looked at Lucas and asked, "Are you sure about this, Lucas?"

"Yes, yes! I even blew out the steam, Claus!"

Claus sat up with a pained grunt and took the tea from his twin. He gave it one last look, closed his eyes and took a sip. The tea was thicker, but it didn't have a weird taste as the ginger did, and to his pleasant surprise, it did taste pretty good. He kept drinking it with very short breaks; if it wasn't a little hot, he would've chugged it down. When he was done, he could feel the tea coating his stomach in a good way, and melted back onto his settling belly with a sigh of satisfaction.

Lucas chuckled, "See? It was good!"

"You're lucky Lucas recommended the peppermint, Dear. I was ready to give you another helping of ginger," Hinawa teasingly cooed as she entered the bedroom of the twins.

Claus squirmed at the idea of another 'helping' of ginger, and the reminder that his Mother could get pretty snarky in a horribly sweet way whenever he wound up punishing himself for his misdeeds.

"Moooooom," was all he could whine in response.

Hinawa looked at her trouble-making son with a little glint in her eye and said, "This is what we call 'karma', Honey."

Claus snorted as he braced for a different kind of scolding, one far worse than the regular 'you've been bad' kind... _Sarcasm_.

And sweet sarcasm was given.

.-.-.-.-.

Claus was up early even when he was sick. He was surprised to see Lucas wandering around the room this early in the morning. Lucas getting dressed so early was foreign to the red-head because normally he would be sleeping. Claus was unable to keep quiet anymore and grumbled, "Where are you heading?"

Lucas was surprised that Claus was awake and responded with a baffled, "Huh?"

"Where are you going..? You didn't leave yesterday but you are today…"

"Oh, I'm going to visit Fuel to see how he's doing, and then I'll keep you company again!" Lucas answered and gave his pouting brother a big sleepy smile.

"…But you're tired," Claus reasoned. He was trying to be subtle that he wanted Lucas to stay, and that he was not upset that he could get up in the morning for Fuel but not him.

Lucas yawned and replied, "Yes, that's why I'm going to go there, get you something nice, come back and snooze…" He yawned again and left the room.

Claus sighed and turned his back from the door as to turn his back to Lucas; whether his twin saw or not. Now facing the blue morning sky didn't make him feel any better, it just added to his torture. Sick, bored, alone, and unable to go outside.

Even though Lucas walked quite a bit to see Bessie and then Fuel, he hadn't woken up very much. His knocks on Fuel and Lighter's door was quiet, but to his fortune, Lighter heard the tired little knocks.

"Hello, Mr. Lighter," Lucas greeted politely as usual to his elders.

"Hey, Lucas," Lighter greeted back. He always found it weird when the kid called him 'Mr.', but he didn't mind it very much. "What're you here for?"

Lucas smiled and answered, "I wanted to visit Fuel to see how he was doing since I didn't yesterday," he replied as he dug in his little pink waist bag for something. When he gotten it, he pulled out a little bottle of liquid and showed it to Lighter. "And my mom wanted me to give you this," he exclaimed and handed it to Lighter. When Lighter took the medicine he explained, "It's medicine for Fuel. She says he can gargle it and spit it back out to soothe any burns or irritation he may have."

Lighter smiled at Lucas in gratitude and placed the little bottle of liquid into his breast pocket. He chuckled, "Give Hinawa my thanks."

"I will!"

Lighter stepped aside to indicate that Lucas could come in and see Fuel.

Lucas kicked the dirt off his shoes and walked past him neatly and quietly up the stairs.

Lighter scratched his head, slightly bemused of Lucas behavior, or well, not being used to a kid like him. He was far too used to Fuel and Claus zooming in and trailing dirt everywhere, and maybe knocking down a lamp or two compared to Lucas' collected mannerism.

Upstairs, Fuel looked like Claus with the way he was pouting in his bed. Lucas had wondered if his stomach hurt just like his twin's and asked, "You have a stomach ache too, Fuel?" Fuel was caught by surprise and sat up to face his gentler friend. He shook his head 'no', because he couldn't speak just yet. "Oh, you just have nothing to do?" Lucas asked.

Fuel nodded.

When Fuel nodded, Lucas caught on to the fact he could not speak yet and decided to stick with yes and no questions.

"So you just sleep it off?"

Fuel nodded, 'yes'.

"Oh, well, I gave your dad some medicine from my mom to gargle if your throat or tongue is irritated. I just wanted to drop by to see you quickly," Lucas said and began to leave until Fuel grabbed his sleeve. "Hm?"

Fuel let him go and looked up at him with a frown. He was trying to figure out how to say 'sorry' through body-actions.

"Hm? Why do you look sad? Are you upset about something?"

He nodded again. He hoped Lucas would catch on because he knew that he was a bright one. He tried to make a large angled poof on the top of his hair as he mimicked a bratty-frown that he was sure Lucas would recognize. The blonde showed that he did when he laughed.

"You're upset about Claus?"

Fuel nodded.

"Hmm…about what happened, I guess?"

Fuel nodded with a big smile of relief that Lucas caught on as quickly as he hoped. He got up from the bed and reached for his shoes, showing that he was going to follow Lucas home to apologize.

"Why are you getting your shoes, Fuel?"

Fuel had no idea how to body-language 'to say sorry', so he tried to lip motion it instead.

"To say?" Was all Lucas got from the silent lip motions.

When Fuel had his shoes tied, he got up and bowed to show Lucas that he wants to apologize to Claus.

"I could just forward the message for you, Fuel…" Lucas said and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

Fuel shook his head 'no' and walked ahead of Lucas. He didn't want Lucas to convince him to stay, even though his father might when he got down stairs. Fuel was right when his father stood in his way at the door. When Lucas got downstairs, he knew that he had to answer for Fuel. He informed, "He wants to follow me home."

"And why's that?"

"He wants to apologize, I think." he answered and rubbed the back of his head out of sheepish habit.

Lighter looked down at his son with a confused expression and asked, "How are you going to do that?"

Fuel draped his arm over Lucas's shoulders as to say he was going to through Lucas.

"…Why not forward the message then? You can't talk."

"That's what I said too!" Lucas said. When he heard a little soft 'pat' very close to him, he looked over to see that Fuel had face palmed at the both of them. "Ah?"

Fuel sighed in a bit of exasperation. He had no way of explaining that he wanted to be in person to apologize, even if he could not say so himself. He just wanted to be there because he felt that being in person was what counted most.

"Uhh…I would just let him, Mr. Lighter." Lucas said in attempt to help Fuel out. Lucas knew he was on the good side of a lot of adults, but never took the chances or time to take advantage of it. He never had a desire or reason to until now.

Lighter too, sighed in a bit of exasperation and shrugged.

"Do whatever you want. Just come back right away, y'hear?" he gave his permission and order and moved from the door.

Fuel tossed his arms up in the air in success and made his way outside with Lucas tailing behind.

.-.-.-.-.

Hinawa was out in the front yard of her home cleaning and clearing for newer flowers to be planted. The summer was almost over and she wanted to get ready for her fall flowers to be planted.

"Now to just wait for Lucas," she said as she looked around her now cleared front yard. The soil was healthy and ready to be tilled for flowers and a little side of cooking herbs. Right on cue, she saw Lucas coming over her way and with, "Fuel?"

Lucas nodded and quickly explained, "Fuel wanted to see Claus to say sorry. Then he has to go back home or Lighter will think he's playing hooky."

Fuel nodded as soon as Lucas spoke for him.

"I see," Hinawa replied. She walked over to Fuel and placed a finger underneath his chin to tilt his head up to hers. She smiled and asked, "Could you let me see, Fuel? To see if I gave you the right thing?"

Fuel opened his mouth and showed her his bruised looking tongue. The bad coloring was fading, and so was it's size, it was mostly his throat that was very sore.

Hinawa removed her hand from his chin and said, "Oh, the medicine I had Lucas deliver is right for this. When you get home and gargle it, you'll start feeling relief right away! Then from then on, you should once in the morning and once at night, Fuel." she said and smiled in her sweet motherly way as always.

Fuel smiled at her brightly. It was moments like these when he could feel apart of the family. It's whenever Lucas always made sure he's happy, Hinawa made sure he's healthy, Flint made sure he was safe, and having a ton of fun with Claus that he felt apart of them. He never felt lonely or that he was small compared to other fuller families, because he felt like these four were apart of his, or well, he was apart of theirs. He headed his way into the house with Lucas following him up the stairs too.

Claus eagerly turned around when he heard foot steps in the room. But it wasn't who he wanted to see at first.

"Agh, what are you here for?" He frowned with disappointment. Even though his tongue was unsightly and sore, he stuck it out at Claus for extra offense for that comment of his. "Eeeew.” Claus recoiled in disgust as he shrunk into his bed at the sight. Normally he could handle gross things, but something about that deformed looking tongue sent chills down his back and a little in his stomach.

Lucas came upstairs and looked at the two already in a semi-argument. He wanted things to go well and said, "Fuel wanted to be here to apologize, Claus."

"Showing a mutant tongue is an odd way to say sorry." Fuel flashed another peek of his tongue at Claus and chuckled when the red-headed boy flinched. "Gosh, Fuel. That's horrible! Stop!"

It was Lucas' turn to face palm when Fuel decided to show Claus his tongue again and in full view. "So much for apologizing…Really, those two…" he got in between them both, and sternly stated, "Stop, and shake hands."

Claus was very reluctant to shake hands with Fuel. He was angry at the boy for continuously flashing his ill tongue at him, but he took Fuel's hand and shook it in order for him to go home and leave him be. Fuel's smile was genuinely large that Claus had shook his hand. He gave him a big hug for this, and his grin only grew larger at Claus' cries of protest to let him go from that hug.

But Claus got the opposite and was hugged tighter.

"Grrooooosss!"


	6. Chapter 6

"Claus, stop rolling scissors!" Lucas yelled at his snickering twin who had beaten him in another round of rock-paper-scissors of boredom.

Claus smirked and asked, "why do you keep rolling paper?"

"…I asked a question first," Lucas refuted and stuck his tongue out at Claus. He never minded losing until someone bragged about winning, and Claus almost always did.

Claus shrugged and said, "Scissors are cool."

"…What? What does that have to do with anything?" Lucas asked in confusion. He frowned when Claus shrugged a second time and laughed at his facial expression. "Really…" but before he could pry the answer of why scissors were apparently 'cool', their mother came in through the door with their father.

"Oh hey, mom and dad!" the excitable of the pair greeted them with a burst of energy and waves of both arms.

Hinawa smiled at her boys and said, "We're going to do something new starting tomorrow morning!"

New things always excited Claus, especially if it was like going on a trip or something shiny. He beamed, "What is it, mom?"

"Well, I thought we should try to spend some one-on-one time with a person we haven't been spending a lot of time with," Hinawa tried to explain slowly and gently. She didn't want to alarm the twins with what this 'something new' really was. The two of them tilted their heads, showing they had their listening ears. She saw this and continued as gently as before, "Lucas, you haven't spent a lot of time with Flint, nor have you been outside a lot as of late… so I thought the two of you should go camping!"

"And I can't?!" Claus whined immediately. He loved everything and anything to do with the outdoors, and not going with his dad severely disappointed him. He was going to try and get around this, even if he had to whine really annoyingly, “ _Why?_ ”

Flint patted his son's head as he always had and explained, "You need to spend more time with your mother, Claus."

Claus looked up at his dad with a puffed cheek of disapproval. He thought, "Just what could I possibly do here in the house with mom? Nothing. What is going on?

"…Camping? But all the mosquitoes are out…" Lucas murmured and frowned.

Hinawa and Flint looked at one another and sighed.

This may be tough to pull off.

.-.-.-.-.

And tough to pull off it was.

Even though Lucas was the most obedient of the pair, he had his moments of reluctance. He wished he could swap places with Claus because he hated sloshing through the mud, the mosquitoes biting him, and roasting things over a fire pit; he found it too crunchy and plain. Sleeping bags weren't his idea of comfy either; just being outside for too long in general wasn't his cup of tea. He placed the last thing he needed into his bag with a sigh and buttoned it up. He sat on his camping bag and looked at his brother, who was angrily curled up on his bed.

"Hey, it's not like I'm taking your place willingly. It's them.” He knew Claus was going to be displeased regardless; he just didn't want his twin to be mad with him.

"And you're not even going to enjoy it," he huffed angrily in reply.

"And neither are you going to enjoy it here. With no bug bites too."

Claus snorted and answered, "What's with you and mosquito bites?"

"They're terribly itchy…. you know my skin swells up more than yours does," Lucas said as he rubbed his arms that were paler than Claus's peachier colored skin.

Claus huffed again, which caused his bangs to fluff up and then messily flop down his face again. Before he could complain further, he heard heavy footsteps enter the room, foot steps that could only belong to Flint. He made sure the first thing Flint saw was his new disappointed face: the upgraded pleading eyes.

Flint had wished he had his hat on right now to hide under it and away from Claus, but indoors Hinawa always wanted all hats off and shoes off, and hats were the easier of the two to have control over. He sighed and crouched down to Claus's level to be eye to eye. Just so he can explain to his son, "You can't go," as simply as possible.

"But why do we have to all split up then?"

"So it would be easier to spend time with who you haven't been spending time with." This situation was a reminder for Flint that he wasn't very good with words. He knew how upset his easily aggravated son was and he wanted to be able to do something about it before he left. He ruffled the red-head's already messy hair and said, "Be good to your mother, alright? I'll have something for you when we get back."

"…Okay," Claus sighed. He really wasn't okay with it, but he was finally ready to call quits. He sat up and sighed as he watched both Lucas and Flint leave the room, and likely out of the house. After a few moments to himself, he lied back down with another sigh.

"Claus, dear?" Hinawa quietly called for Claus at the door frame. She saw how he was already incredibly upset and wondered what she could do for him. He was normally the epitome of happy. "Claus… come on, don't you want to be with mommy for a little while?"

"Mom, I'm a ten year old boy."

"And what does that mean? You're still a young boy, dear," Hinawa giggled.

"Yeah, but I'm growing to be a man, mom." Claus was determined to make his mom go away and let him brood, like grown men brood when there's nothing for them to do. He ignored her wave for his hand when she walked over to him. He was going to stay in this room until his dad came back and that was it.

"Now come on, sweetie, we're going to learn to sew," Hinawa said and grabbed a hold of Claus's already flailing arm.

"Ugh, no! Lucas sews! Why do I have to?"

"You can't rely on Lucas to sew your clothes, honey, you need to be able to do it yourself too. Independence, dear. Even your father sews his own rips and tears."

"D..Dad sews?" Claus asked astounded by that bit of information. In his little world he could've sworn women just sewed, and that Lucas was the only boy who did. He definitely did not think Flint would, someone who he thought was the strongest and coolest of all of Tazmilly.

"Yes, honey. If you want to be technical on the 'girlishness' of this skill, it's knitting and crochet that are feminine. Sewing is a basic skill of aid compared to those."

"Alright, alright. I get it, mom," Claus groaned and followed her downstairs to the knitting and sewing part of the house. Once Hinawa let his arm go, she placed herself at the already set up sewing circle and waved for Claus to come over. He sighed and sat down across the table from her. "So…" He began, unable to think of questions or conversation. Now that he was actually in the situation, he had realized that he had never thought about being with Hinawa in the same way Lucas had always spent his time with her, let alone sewing with her.

"Aw, Claus, sit next to me. Please?" Hinawa cooed her request. Her sweet little voice always caught the attention and will of others, and it managed to catch Claus's as well. She smiled when her little red-headed boy sat next to her with an embarrassed expression. She grabbed for the sewing kit and his old shirt and said, "I want you to try to stitch your old shirt."

Claus looked at the large tear that started from the top to the waist line. He remembered how it happened. A bush caught onto it, and yanking its branch off only made the tear bigger. He looked at Hinawa and said, "You want me to do this? It's such a large tear!"

"Exactly, it means a lot of practice!" she stated and grabbed an old cloth she ripped to demonstrate to Claus just how to sew it. As she slowly sewed it, she told him how to do so with each thread she sewed together to make the cloth whole again.

Once she was done, Claus stared at his 'project' as to wonder where to even begin. He was about to start from the bottom until his hand was led by Hinawa's to the top of the shirt where the tear had started. He bit his bottom lip in concentration as he stitched. He managed to do a few stitches before chuckling, "Hey, this isn't so hard…"

"See?" Hinawa giggled as she watched Claus slowly stitch his shirt back in two. She saw that he made a few stitches too tight in some places, but he was generally doing really well, better than she thought he would at first. He nicked his fingers quite a few times, but it didn't seem to stop him from trying to complete this task. "You can do it, honey! Then I'll get you a nice omelet after we go outside in the garden for awhile!"

"I'm really up for a big one…" Claus snickered as he continued to stitch his shirt.

"If you want a big one, you have to help mommy out in the garden, Claus."

"Deal. I'll be really starved so look out!" he laughed in a now better mood. As he stitched his shirt, he wondered if he would even wear it outside. The least noticeable repairs were the little over tight stitches that made crinkles in the shirt; the bigger problem was that he wasn't stitching the stripe pattern back in. He knew Ritchie would tease and bother him about it, and he couldn't stand her enough as is. She always found something to tease him about, let alone hit him over.

"You're stitching your shirt so well, Claus! I'm so proud!" Hinawa cheered and clapped for Claus as he was reaching the end of his stitching.

Claus's cheeks became very rosy from her praise. As she continued to clap, he tried to fight the urge to smile, but failed when he made the last stitch. He couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself for doing this on his own for whatever reason, even if it didn't look perfect or new compared to what Hinawa could do. "I'm going to wear this when Lucas gets back!" he exclaimed and smiled as he stretched out his stitched shirt into view.

"Yes, I'm sure Lucas would be proud of it, Flint too. Now fold it up nice and neat so we can go outside in the garden. We have herbs to harvest! Now I can show you what herb is what and what each does."

"Alright!" Claus agreed and pushed her outside as he normally did with his elegantly slow walking mother.

.-.-.-.-.

If there was one thing Lucas inherited from Flint, it was having a lack of words and difficulty starting conversations.

Lucas was more so gentle with a timid shyness, and he mostly wanted to follow whoever lead. Flint on the other hand was the more tough and gruff quiet; someone who took charge in silence. The two of them just walked in silence the entire time, 'the entire time' being close to an hour. Lucas was confused when his father made a sudden halt. Before he asked what was wrong, he saw a long road of mud and sighed.

"I already know," Flint said and crouched down just a little bit.

"What are you doing, father?" Lucas was confused as to why his father was crouching down. To Lucas, it looked like he was going to just sit and stare at the mud. He didn't even know what he meant by 'I already know'.

"Get on my back, Lucas," he stated simply and to the point as he always done when he communicated with people.

Lucas climbed onto his dad's back and sat on his shoulders. Once he parked himself, Flint rose up and started to slush through the mud without issue. Lucas said, "I really don't know how you can slush through that…"

"I've been through worse, Lucas," Flint chuckled.

Lucas decided to not ask any further, instead, he took off Flint's hat and placed it on his own with a little laughter. Deep down he always wanted to ask to wear his hat, but he was always far too shy to ask him to. He was surprised that the hat was so warm because of how bald his father was. He assumed that hair kept hats warm, but it didn't seem to be the case with Flint and his hat. His laughter continued because he was up high and close with his father, and finally got to try on his hat.

Flint's laughter wasn't a loud hearty one, but his amusement was heard. Out of the few times he had been around Lucas, he never saw the boy energized. He also didn't expect him to be playful enough to take his hat off of his head to wear it himself. He was willing to let Lucas stay on top of his shoulders, but once he was through the mud, he felt that Lucas climbing off of him already.

"Here's your hat," Lucas said as he handed it back to Flint.

Flint wondered why Lucas looked so bothered as he took his hat from him. Since his son's expression didn't seem to neutralize itself, he asked, "What is it?"

"I…I need to use the bathroom…" Lucas murmured shyly to his father. Normally he never announced to anyone if he had to go to the bathroom or not, but he never been so deep in the woods before and was unsure on what to do.

"Oh," Flint began, relieved that it wasn't something more serious. He saw that his timid son was now beginning to wiggle about and 'informed', "Just go."

"…Go home?" Lucas asked confused and worried.

Flint laughed and corrected his son's adorable mistake, "No, I mean out in the trees or somewhere, Lucas."

Lucas looked at his father with disbelief and even more confusion. He replied, "H-huh? I..I thought we weren't supposed to outside like t-that…"

"It's different when you're deep in the woods, Lucas. You can."

"O…kay…" he quietly said and hurried off into bushes that hid him quiet well. He was a very private and shy person, even if there was literally no one else around but him and his father. As he peed, he was surprised to see that the bush had rustled and gotten up. He cried out in disgust when the bush shook itself like a wet dog before it calmly walked away, strangely not insulted about being peed on. Lucas was already crying heavily and loudly. He was crying from shock and having his own waste splashed all over him. He hated being dirty and this was the worst kind of dirty to him. He started to cry more, feeling he wasn't going to be clean until however long Flint kept him here for.

Flint saw that Lucas was soiled, and he also saw the walking bush on his way to his weeping child. "…The bush?"

Lucas nodded and asked, "Can…can I go home?"

"Don't worry, Lucas, there's a spring near by. Let's go there," he stated and grabbed Lucas' hand, even if it was soiled. He knew besides fright, Lucas was crying because of cleanliness. As far as he knew, Lucas' main confidence centered around how clean and well-kept he was. He could only imagine the horror he felt being soiled like this. Even though Lucas was grossed out with himself and how Flint grabbed his hand regardless of it being covered with urine, he did appreciate the gesture and how he didn't feel totally filthy.

.-.-.-.-.

Normally Claus wouldn't be thrilled to be in a garden, but he was amazed by all the different kinds of plants he never seen before. Hinawa was slower than him as usual, but since the herbs had his attention, he didn't mind as much or at all. When he heard her footsteps crush the long grass under her feet, he turned around and asked, "Wow look at all the shapes and sizes! One patch even has purple ones!"

"The purple ones are Anise hyssops. They could be flowers or used in salads. Nothing more special, but they are pretty."

Claus snorted and said, "I can't tell apart pretty things."

Hinawa giggled and crouched down besides Claus and said, "You pluck these, and all the other herbs very gently. They're not tough like vegetables." After her instruction, she demonstrated on how to pull them from their places. "Also, don't take them all, dear. Some need to be left behind to make seeds."

"Alright! They even have nice smells. I can even recognize some you cook with!"

Hinawa laughed, "Yes. Sometimes to make the omelets a little spicier…but most of these go in stews and medicines. It's almost fall time, so it's best to get as many herbs for everyone, including you and your father's big bellies!"

Hinawa was glad that Claus was able to loosen up around her and in her garden, a place she found to be one of her heavens.

.-.-.-.-.

Lucas had forgotten how much he loved these springs. It wasn't very often he got in them, and getting into one right after his accident made it all the better. Though there was no conversation between him and his father, he appreciated the company and kindness his dad expressed to him in his own unique way. He understood Flint's silence, because Lucas had the same problem himself; the only difference being that people found his shyness adorable while Flint's could easily be more intimidating.

But despite how scary the gruff cowboy could be unintentionally, he gave Lucas a friendly hair ruffle for his attention. When the attention was given, he said, "It's dusk, so let's fish." Flint was never good at saying things in a form of a question, they always sounded more like a statement because of how short and to the point they were. To his luck, Lucas wasn't frightened or off-put by his suggestion.

When the two were dressed and ready, they headed to the stream. Lucas sat on a boulder as he watched his father silently work with the fishing equipment. Lucas wondered if Claus and Flint fished whenever the two of them went camping and hiking. As curious as he was to ask, he felt asking such questions would destroy the whole purpose of the trip and decided against it. During his thoughts, he saw Flint turn around which meant that he was done, and it also meant for him to come over. Lucas sat besides him and as he took the smaller rod, he looked at him for directions.

Flint got up and demonstrated on how to cast the fishing line, when cast, he sat back down. Lucas decided to give it a try, to his luck, nothing went wrong, and he too sat down after his cast. After awhile he was ready to talk and asked, "So we just sit and wait?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

Much time had gone by, but Lucas didn't really mind and neither did Flint. The two of them were actually enjoying the silence and the scenery, and how they had a mutual silence that strengthened their bond. No fish were caught however, so instead they had the packed lunches from Hinawa for dinner. Silence still hung, even during their meal. The only thing to fill the void was the sounds of the woodland creatures and the streaming water. Only more silence came as they rolled out their sleeping bags.

Flint had told Lucas his simple goodnight and turned over on his side.

Lucas stared at the moon in the sky finding it very eerie. He also had slight regrets that he had left his stuffed rabbit with Claus for the night, even if he didn't tell Claus so. The regret was small since he knew Claus would be at peace with it, he just needed to find some form of comfort to be able to sleep at night. He never slept outside before, let alone with nothing over his head, and as he thought, he heard Flint snore.

He gulped and gotten out of his sleeping bag and held it in hand. He stared at his dad sleep for awhile before he placed his sleeping bag very close. As he got into it and tried to get comfortable, he started closing his eyes until he saw his father smile with his eyes closed. Before he knew it, his head was patted. Lucas then spent a good portion of the night wondering if Flint was awake or not when he did that. He wondered if he was even sleeping at all. Even though he wondered these things, he no longer felt afraid and was able to get a good night's rest. He appreciated he was able to sleep outside in it with the help and protection of his father.

.-.-.-.-.

Claus was staring at that blasted bunny doll lay on Lucas's side of the bed. He was having difficulty sleeping without Lucas around and figured that Lucas left the rabbit behind to put him at ease, but it only made him wonder how Lucas was fairing out on the trip. Lucas had never slept outside before, and he figured he and his dad weren't close, so how could he leave that rabbit here for him? That rabbit laying besides him was one of the few things that soothed Lucas of any problem. He couldn't help but worry the more he stared at it.

To his luck, Hinawa had decided to check on him before she went to bed herself. She made herself known by brushing her hand through Claus thick and unkempt hair.

"What's wrong, Claus?"

"…I'm worried about Lucas. He left that stuffed rabbit here…" Claus admitted and grabbed the long pointed ears of the rabbit.

"Oh, Lucas left it behind for you because he worried you'd have trouble sleeping at night," Hinawa cooed as she continued her petting.

"I could've slept much easier… he never slept outside before so I thought he would need it…"

"Don't worry, Claus. He has Flint with him," Hinawa reassured with a big smile despite her sleepiness.

Claus looking up at her with worry earned him another pat and a kiss on the forehead. He figured if he was fine and happy with Hinawa, Lucas should feel safe and secure with Flint because he did whenever he was with Flint. He was now at more at ease and yawned, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, sweetie," Hinawa said and exited the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Whenever winter had hit Tazmilly, it hit it hard. There was always a ton of snow that seemed to have never let up until spring. It was quite the pain for the adults but a godsend to the children. Though, whenever adults were finished with chores, there was one hill they sled down on to relieve some stress; a hill they forbade children from riding.

Of course Claus was different from the other children, and so was his 'two man crew'.

"This hill," Claus said and pointed to the large hill in the distance.

"That hill, Claus?! With all the snow on it, and our tiny sled with three people on it, we'd zoom down it at dangerous speeds!" Lucas cried out while waving his arms in distraught.

"That sounds kinda cool, actually," Fuel mused aloud and stared at the hill that looked like it touch the sky.

"Not 'kinda', it _is!_ " Claus stated. He pointed at the hill again and said, "Just look at it! We could be sledding down it for ten minutes! And at an amazing speed too!"

"Yeah! You're right, Claus! Oh man I can't wait now!" Fuel exclaimed and ran on ahead.

"Hey, Fuel! I'm the leader! I'm first!" Claus yelled and ran to get ahead of Fuel.

Lucas worried for the both of them and wondered if they would be hasty enough to slide down that hill without him or wait for him to get up the hill. He wasn't very fast, and today he had on heavy snow boots going up a hill covered in thick snow. To his luck the two were waiting for him…kind of.

They were arguing about who got the front seat.

"I want to be really into the action!"

"Yeah, but it's _my_ sled, that Lighter, _my dad_ , built!"

"You owe me for the berry crap!"

"No way! Y-you were at fault too!"

Lucas turned his head to whoever yelled next. His head went back and forth until his neck got a bit of a kink in it. He held onto it as he finally spoke up, "We're likely to ride it more than once and… It doesn't matter who is where because we all get the same amount of speed anyway…"

"The view, Lucas!" they shouted at the same time and resumed their argument.

Lucas sighed heavily and tried again. This time his voice was a little more demanding, "It doesn't matter but I am going to assign it by height then!"

"No fair, Lucas! I'm the shortest!" Claus shouted out. On normal circumstances he would deny being the shortest, but there was no way he'd go all the way in the back."

"It is fair because it means you get to go in the front, Claus," Lucas groaned. If his hands weren't covered with mittens he would have palmed his face more effectively.

"But it's my sled!" Fuel protested. Neither of them understood where Lucas was getting at.

"Because Claus is shortest, he goes up front, you want the view as much as he does so you go second. You'll see right over Claus' head, and I don't really care about being in the back," Lucas finally managed to explain without being cut off for once.

"Ooooh," the two of them said, understanding and finally coming to an agreement.

Claus eagerly hopped onto the front of the sled with Fuel positioning himself second. He was a little reluctant until he saw that Lucas' formation was right and fitting. Once Lucas seated himself, he wrapped his arms as tightly around Fuel's thick coat as much as he could. The three of them continued to scoot the sled until it finally, and pretty much instantly, started to speed down the high hill.

"Oh man you were right, Claus!" Fuel excitedly shouted as he leaned to the side just a little bit to get a better view but not cause the sled to turn.

Claus yelled his joy at the top of his lungs while Lucas yelled in fear at the top of his lungs.

The three's thrill came to a very abrupt halt when a large rock in their path not only caused a nasty huge crack into the sled, it launched all three of them into the air. Fuel and Claus tumbled with one another through the snow while Lucas wasn't anywhere close to them. Once they had stopped they laughed about how amazing being launched was. Once their laughter had settled, Claus called for Lucas. When he didn't get a response from his younger twin, he worried immediately.

"Lucas!" Claus cried out and ran off to begin his search. He didn't have to instruct Fuel to help look, he was sure that he was already. Claus's gut was leading him north, but his gut was kind of like the more extreme common sense, so it wasn't saying much. "Lucas!" he cried again in hope he'd finally call back in return.

"Br-br-bro!"

"Lucas! Where are ya callin' from?!" Claus shouted and kept running north.

"S-s-straight ahead!"

He followed his directions and saw that Lucas was shivering in what seems to be a newly discovered hot spring.

"Hey…why do you look cold?"

"W-when I stood up…I-I froze o-over…H-how am I gonna get out, Claus?"

Claus thought about it for a few moments until he heard Fuel call for him. His face lit up with an idea as he called for Fuel.

"Fuel! Me and Lucas are over here! Hurry, he needs us!"

Fuel had his broken sled with him upon his arrival. When he saw Lucas, he frowned at the sight and murmured, "Oh geeze…"

Claus frowned as well and said, "Give him your coat and I'll give him my pants!"

"U-uh okay…" Fuel replied and started taking off his coat. He wasn't a big fan of the cold, especially when he felt the breeze go through his sweater when he peeled off his coat. The irony of this situation was that Lucas was a fan of the cold, but he could tell that even though Lucas loved the cold, being wet and cold wouldn't settle with any rational being, He was glad to give him his thick coat.

Lucas clung to the coat very tightly as he shivered roughly into his twin's winter pants. He watched Claus and Fuel push the wet clothing as far back onto the sled as they could and motioned for him to sit on the sled. Once he did, he was ever so grateful how they gave him articles of their clothing, and dragged him back on the sled instead of having him walk in wet shoes.

.-.-.-.-.

In the next morning, Claus had woken up in the guest bed. It was odd to sleep there because he had never slept there before. After he and Fuel brought Lucas home, Hinawa said it was best that he and Lucas sleep in separate beds because of an inevitable cold that would arise. Despite not sleeping much during the night, he was still up bright and early with nothing but 'the snifflies' and hurried his way to Lucas.

"Luuuucas!" He called with a grin and loomed over him at their bed.

"…Ah?" the sniffly boy answered very weakly, and without even opening his eyes. He was very tired and not all that there.

Claus frowned and touched Lucas' forehead. He remembered how Hinawa touched his forehead when he was 'feelin' under the weather' and yelped at how hot his brother's forehead was.

"W-wow your forehead…it's the hottest thing I've felt all year!" Claus exclaimed and started to examine Lucas all over.

"C-Claus…I'm feverish…and tired…and er, hot, as you say. It's best you stay far away from me as long as possible, okay?"

Claus frowned at him for a few moments before nodding in agreement and slugged his way downstairs. He foresaw himself being very bored now since Lucas was sick, and their domain was probably off limits to him for a few days. On his way to some other part of the house, he heard the familiar clicks of his mother's feminine shoes. He beamed and charged at the direction of the clicks and shouted, "Hey, mom!"

Hinawa was dressed heavily for the weather that got even colder. She was putting on her scarf when Claus had called her. She looked down and smiled, "Yes, Dear? Mommy has to go soon so what is it?"

Claus tilted his head and asked, "To where?"

"Just like how you have the snifflies and Lucas unfortunately got very sick, I have to deliver medicines to many people so they can stay healthy!" Hinawa informed as she picked up two large and seemingly heavy bags.

Not only did the bags look heavy to Claus, he worried about his mom going out there all over the place all alone. Whenever things were like so for Hinawa, he always saw his dad carry her bags and possibly do the errands as a whole for her, and he was ready to do the exact same.

"Mom, I can help!"

"Oh, no, Honey," Hinawa said as she placed her bags down and patted Claus' head. "I got it, and I'll be back soon!" she exclaimed. She picked up her bags once more and hurried to the door. Before closing the door outside, she added, "And someone needs to stay back and make sure Lucas is safe! And I'm sure a strong boy like you can do that wonderfully!"

Claus blushed and nodded as he watched his mom close the door. After a mere two minutes of her being gone and him being totally alone, he sighed and sat on the plush carpet. The carpet was rather warm and in front of the fire place, so it wasn't so bad as he listened to it crackle, but Claus could only sit still by himself for so long. He knew he couldn't go outside, and he knew Lucas was sleeping and he couldn't go in unless called and it was driving him mad.

"I wish I had some kind of company!" he whined and lied down on his back.

To most people, the door knocking immediately after their call would be creepy, but to Claus it was like a personally hand wrapped gift from god. He sprung up to his feet and opened the door with a huge grin! But as soon as he saw who it was he aimed to close it immediately.

"Hey! You don't close the door on a lady like that!"

"You ain't a lady, Ritchie! Get away from my door!" Claus yelled and managed to almost shut the door until Fuel shoved it open in excitement. Claus fell on his rump from the shove of the door and the shock of even Angie being over. "Why are you all here?" he asked. He wouldn't have minded Fuel at all, and he doesn't really know Angie so he was neutral on her, but he dreaded Ritchie being here.

Angie smiled as lady-like and sweetly as a mother would and answered, "We wanted to see how you and Lucas were doing!" and giggled with a fancy mitten covered hand over her lips.

Fuel sheepishly rubbed his head and added, "Yeah, and I knew you would've been bored out of your mind by yourself too!"

"Uh…Thanks, Angie, Fuel…" he said before he darted his eyes back at Ritchie. Ritchie was like the bane to his existence, more so than spinach could ever be. Whenever she hit him, she was the only thing he couldn't hit back, all he could do was avoid and use words. It bothered him further to find out that she apparently 'like-likes' him. It had to have been true since Lucas had told him and Lucas never lies, but that would be the one time he wished that Lucas does lie.

"Uh, where is my apology, Claus?" Ritchie growled as she crossed her arms.

"You should know that you're never invited here!" Claus answered angrily as he pointed an incriminating finger at her.

"Hinawa says so!"

"To be fair, Hinawa likes everybody and everything," Fuel stated as he scratched his head.

"Shut it, Fuel!" Both Claus and Ritchie shouted simultaneously.

Fuel gulped and just paid attention to shedding his multiple layers of clothing and placing them where they belong.

"Aw, you two, please stop it…" Angie said so nicely it actually made both Ritchie and Claus feel guilt for their yelling. When she saw that the two had calmed down she asked, "May I check on Lucas? I have something for him."

"Uh…yeah, sure," Claus said as he scratched his head. Her over politeness was so adult-like, just like Lucas. The 'yellowness' of her clothes did not help the awkward situation of her over polite similarity. As Angie wandered up the stairs, Fuel looked like how Boney had whenever he was left behind.

Ritchie playfully slapped the back of Claus' hair, thinking that he too, was over-taken by Angie.

"Hey, Carrot top!"

"Damn it, I told you to stop calling me "Carrot top"!" Claus snarled and backed away from her. Normally, if anyone else called him 'Carrot top' or any variant of his very orange hair would've gotten jabbed. But the adults always told him to never hit a girl, whether he considered Ritchie one or not. It drove him mad and he wished that she would leave.

As much as Fuel wanted to follow Angie, he had to watch Claus and Ritchie from killing each other.

When Angie came up stairs and saw Lucas eating a little tin of apple sauce, she couldn't help but find him adorable, even like this. She smiled and greeted, "Good morning, Lucas." Lucas finished his spoon-full and turned his attention to Angie and waved. His throat was too sore to say hello to her. The little-lady headed her way over to the bed with her smile still intact, though now she was clutching the little bag she had in view. She placed it on his desk and said, "This is for you.”

"Thanks," Lucas replied, his voice rather raspy. He would have said more but his throat wasn't up for it, and he was sure Angie had understood. He saw Angie pulling a stool over to the bed to be close and decided to quickly say, "I'm sick, Angie. Best not stay long."

Angie patted Lucas' forehead with her mitten covered hand and said, "I don't mind getting sick from spending time with you."

Lucas could feel his heart race at her words and her patting his forehead so gently. Admittedly, he too liked Angie, but he wasn't sure if he liked her as much as Fuel seemed to have had. He tried his best to be as natural as he could be in an embarrassing situation when you're sick. He tried asking, "Who else is here?"

"Fuel. But he's likely watching Ritchie and Claus to make sure they don't fight."

"Oh, Ritchie's here?"

"Yeah, she insisted on coming to see Claus but…."

"They just fought instead," Lucas laughed weakly.

Angie laughed with him as well and got up from her seat. As she left, she bowed and said, "I'll be going back down stairs now. As much as I would like to stay here with you, I can't because I am sure my parents don't want me to catch a cold either."

"I understand, Angie. Thank you for visiting and the gift," Lucas said and waved his farewells to her. He was sure that Angie would send his regards to the others for him as well.

Downstairs, Angie had saw that Claus was sticking his tongue at Ritchie. He had his index fingers tugging his lips wide while Fuel held her back from clawing his face apart. She was just about ready to scold the two until the door opened with a heavy blow of wind and a rugged cowboy.

"Hey there, Mr. Flint!" Fuel greeted.

Flint forced the door shut and tilted his hat at the children who knew that was his way of saying 'hello'. When he settled in into his home, he asked them, "Just how did you all get here with that weather?"

"We got here before it got like that!" Fuel answered.

"Dad, you haven't seen mom?" Claus asked after the rough weather outside settled into his brain.

Flint was surprised to hear that Hinawa even dared to go out in that weather and asked, "She's out there?" just to make sure his delicate woman wasn't out in that weather. It was bad enough his frail son got sick, he didn't want his wife to be as well.

"Y-yeah…she went out when it wasn't bad," Claus informed. He wanted his dad to take on that weather in supreme manliness and bring his mother back, and he was sure Flint would.

And he was right, Flint headed straight for the door, and as he was leaving he stated, "Alright, I'll get her out. You kids might have to stay the night over if it keeps up.” He left with a heavy door slam from the rough winds.

"Awesome!" Fuel cheered for a high five from Claus.

Until he realized Ritchie was tugging at the poof of hair on Claus' head.

.-.-.-.-.

After awhile, Hinawa was brought home safe and soundly by Flint. She was happy to see her husband find her after she finished her deliveries but got stuck in the bad weather. Since the weather was still howling and being terrible, she made a big pot of stew to feed everyone. While everyone ate and Claus delivered a bowl to his twin, he snuck his way over to his father who was repairing something.

"Hey, Dad, I gotta question," he started with a low tone.

"Hm?" Flint asked and stopped his task to give his son his full attention.

"About girls," he murmured.

Flint chuckled in response for many reasons. Claus's question, something he braced for since he was born, and how shy his son was being while still trying to be tough about it too. Once he settled his chuckling, he asked, "What about them?"

"Did you get lucky or what? I mean, Ritchie is terrible, violent, and annoying. Angie makes Fuel an idiot and Lucas more bashful than he already is, and Jackie is really weird and shaky, like Bessie warped his mind. So, is mom a beyond girl or are you lucky?"

Flint tried his best to not laugh, but his son's rambling was so good that he couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh. Despite everyone turning around in surprise at his laughter, he answered his question,

"Beyond girl."

"…Thought so."


	8. Chapter 8

Lucas knew the deal this year, and this year on this particular day, he was up before Claus. He knew right away he would have to be up early, and even dressed early too. He got this all out of the way so that he could style his hair how he wanted to; unlike last year with the quickie job. As he was finishing his hair, he heard Claus twisting around in their bed; it was like he had a sixth sense on the sun rising any second.

Lucas quietly made his way over to the bed because Claus was a much lighter sleeper than he himself was. He decided that he was going to be a 'new Lucas' today, and this was one of the first steps to being that new Lucas. He crawled carefully onto the bed and on top of his sleeping brother who was still stirring around in his sleep as if he were anticipating to wake up once the sun hit. But more than one thing was going to hit this morning.

The sun light had slowly poured into the room as it always did on good summer days. Claus had felt the sun light shine across his face, but not like it normally had. It was like something was blocking some of its path…This oddity caused Claus to slowly open his eyes, but when he did, he saw an oddly lit face not too far from his face saying, "Bleeeehhh!"

"WOAH!" Claus cried out and tumbled out of his bed. He was still stunned by whatever stuck its tongue at him in a weird voice the moment he had woken up, but after a few moments of his senses regaining order, he heard laughter from Lucas and stuttered, "F..first scare of year eleven…"

"First laugh of year eleven too!" Lucas said, when his laughing faded. He got down from the bed and helped Claus to his feet before saying, "Good morning!"

"Mornin'," Claus greeted in return, but with an informal yawn. He looked over at Lucas putting on his shoes and questioned, "What are you putting your shoes on for? We gotta chow down, Lucas."

Lucas smiled and replied, "I already had breakfast with mom," and hurried out the door.

"What? How could you eat without me, Lucas?" he cried out and ran over through the door frame. When he missed Lucas, he ran to the top of the stairs and shouted, "How?!"

Lucas ran past his mother in a giggle fit to the outdoors. He wasn't going to leave anywhere without Claus, but doing something different, and being something different for once actually felt great. Outside, he strolled his way over to a miniature house right next to his own big house. He peeked his head in and said, "Hello!"

Out popped a furry brown habitant of the tiny house. He barked and lazily came out-partially; just enough that his front half was out into the sunlight. Lucas giggled and patted the dog on his large head. His pats on their dog was always short and simple, while Claus at times wrestled the poor thing. But their dog was tough and sometimes managed to make Claus knock it off so he could snooze in his tiny red and white home. He didn't mind coming out whenever Lucas had called for him. He made a little doggy whistle to communicate that he wanted to be pet before the red-haired terror comes to drag him away.

Lucas grinned and rubbed his short fur from the front of his head to his back. He did over and over until his dog rolled over. He giggled, "Ah, Boney, you're so adorable!" as he rubbed his belly. Boney figured that he was, and he had no shame in that. He rubbed his back on his house mat the more Lucas showered him with attention. That was until he heard the door open with a bang.

"Alright, Lucas! Let's go, let's go!" Claus ordered and head over to the little dog house. He looked down at Boney who was on his back and 'greeted', "Sup, Lazy-chubby-dog?" Boney grumbled and got out of the dog house as he debated whether he wanted to rip the boy's shorts off or not just yet.

"Aw, Claus, his chubbiness is cute!" Lucas said, as he offered Boney to follow him out of the yard.

"Yeah, but, dogs are a man's companion! They're athletic and not chubby and cute!"

Boney snorted, holding in his urges to rip off those shorts. It was his birthday, so he was willing to give the red-headed terror a break, no matter how many snippy comments he made about him. He decided that he would just trip him at the perfect moment later.

In Tazmilly, Claus scouted around for a friend he and Lucas rarely ever ran into and played with. "Nichol!" He shouted out in the open of town square.

Lucas nudged his loud brother and said, "He's usually in doors, Claus. That's why you never see him…"

Claus gave Boney a hard pat on the head and ordered, "Hey, Bon-bon, find Nichol for us!"

Boney huffed and started to whiff the air. He already figured that Nichol would be at home, but if he didn't put up a sniff show first, Claus would just find a reason to be bored and displeased. He sniffed around town a bit, as Claus cheered in entertainment as he though. Finally, he led the twins to Nichol's house and sat by the door politely. He was surprised that Claus gave him a generous rub on the head than his usual quick pats.

Lucas hurried to the door before Claus had done anything obnoxious and loud. Lucas's knock on the door was very polite. The wait was quite a bit, which almost made Claus bang on the door until it had opened.

"Oh, you complain about me being at your house but you have the nerve to be here?"

"I'm here for your brother, Ritchie!" Claus retorted.

"Point still stands, dotty-face!" Ritchie shouted an insult on Claus' freckles.

Claus fumed and was ready to storm off until he saw Lucas step up and swat her hair buns. He was surprised Lucas had done that. Lucas's eyebrows furrowed as he said, "Look, Big-nose, we're here for Nichol, that's all. Now can you move aside?"

Ritchie covered her nose and moved out of the way in embarrassment. She herself always stared at her nose in the mirror, but never has anyone commented on it until now. It hurt more that someone like Lucas had commented on her nose like that.

Claus laughed heatedly as Lucas went inside to get Nichol. When he returned, he gave Lucas a pat on the back and said, "Wow, I never would have thought.."

"Really…She is so rude," he sighed and walked on ahead to out of town.

Nichol fixed his glasses as he ran after the twins and their dog. Since he was lagging a bit behind, he shouted, "We're going to pick up Fuel?"

"Yeah!" Lucas said as he kept on running on ahead.

"And we're going swimming!"

.-.-.-.-.

Claus had thought that one meek boy who couldn't handle the heat and was afraid of bugs was enough, but it turned out his kind-of friend, Nichol, was another dose. He reacted less than Lucas when it came to bugs since his arms and legs were covered by long sleeves, but he complained about the forest heat more. Lucas didn't mind the heat as much in his shorts and T-shirt, but whenever a bug would land on his arm or hop up his leg he would scream and plead for Claus to peel the slimy thing off of him.

What felt like forever to Claus was only ten minutes, and from what he gathered, Fuel was about a half hour into the forest. It was moments like these when he wondered why Lighter and Fuel lived in the heart of the forest for. As Claus sighed, he took notice that Lucas had stopped walking and sighed again. He knew there was another bug near by, and when he looked in the direction Lucas did, it was a praying mantis.

"…That's the biggest I've seen," Lucas whimpered.

"It may be big, but it's still weak as ever, watch," Claus said and gave the bug a swift kick with his blue shoe.

Nichol cringed at the sight of the bug being kicked off to a distance and splatter onto a rock.

"It may have been gross, but…"

"Ouch," Lucas finished and hurried past the stained rock.

Claus remained the lead, ready to kick away anymore bugs that were to come in the way of his and his meek friends path.

"Whew…it really is hot," Nichol sighed and fanned himself with his little pale hand. He was so hot that his glasses could get steamy any minute.

Claus sighed hearing him speak of the heat again and suggested, "How about taking off the formal shirt..jacket…thing?"

"But I just have an undershirt under this, Claus," he replied as his already heated pink cheeks warmed up to a red.

"As far as I know, only girls need to have their chest and arms covered," Claus replied and shrugged. He had his shirt off many times and never had troubles, so he couldn't see why Nichol would.

Nichol bashfully took off his shirt and wrapped it around his waist. He admitted, "Well, it does…feel better already."

"See? Great being a guy, ah?"

Lucas rolled his eyes and shoved Claus on ahead to avoid him getting into a ramble about why boys rule and girls suck. Things went well for the remainder of their walk to Fuel's house. No more huge bugs, heat wasn't as bad since the trees covered out the sun more, and they could see Fuel's house in the distance. As always, Lucas was excited to see Fuel, more so than Claus was because they weren't rivals like he and his red-headed twin were. He was the first to arrive at the door and knocked on it a little louder than he usually does. He was anxious to see his friend and to hurry up into the cool lake. When Fuel opened the door, the three outside could see that he had a wet cold towel around the back of his neck, and one on the top of his head with water droplets dripping down his forehead.

"Hey, Fuel!" Lucas greeted.

"Hey, Lucas. Happy birthday," Fuel greeted in return and with a smile. He peered over Lucas and grinned mischievously when he spotted Claus. "Happy birthday to you too, Ginger snap!"

"I'll have you know that it was this 'Ginger snap's' idea to invite you to the swimming party! And I can just leave you behind for that one!"

"But I want Fuel to come with us!" Lucas whined.

"See? You wouldn't want to deny precious Lucas his good friend would you?" Fuel egged on playfully. Unaware that Claus did not take this as jest.

Claus sneered and walked on ahead.

Fuel stepped out of his home and closed the door with a fond chuckle.

.-.-.-.-.

Though Claus and Lucas had their major differences, there were somethings that they loved equally, and swimming was one of those very things. When Claus took off his shirt and shoes, Lucas followed after immediately along with Fuel. Nichol on the other hand, just watched. Claus noticed this and turned around to ask Nichol, "You're not gonna swim?" When Nichol declined, Claus tried his best to convince him otherwise. He didn't want to have brought someone over just to watch everyone else do something fun.

He pointed up to a near by cliff over the lake and said, "We're gonna dive off of that! It's great fun, Nichol!"

Again, Nichol declined.

The three boys frowned but headed up the hill's cliff regardless; resisting it was far too hard. Claus was the first to jump. As he ran up the hill, he didn't need to steady himself or anything, he just ran and dove in head first. Lucas and Fuel ran over to the edge and looked down to see Claus waving from down below. Fuel motioned for Lucas to step back and did as requested. "I'm gonna go for a…" Fuel trailed off as he steadied himself over the cliff.

"A what?" Lucas asked.

"Cannon baaalll!" Fuel hollered and jumped off the edge. As he fell to the water, he hugged his legs against his chest and landed with a much rougher splash than Claus's.

Lucas walked over to the edge and looked down to see both Fuel and Claus waving and cheering for him to jump down. Lucas took a deep breath and pinched his nose before he jumped in. Out of the three jumpers, his splash in was the second smallest. He was pulled up to the surface of the water by Claus shortly after he dived in. Lucas clung to his brother once he reached the top of the water; almost in disbelief that he jumped like that.

"I can't believe I did that!"

"Neither can I! That was really cool of you, Lucas!" Claus praised and ruffled his brother's soaked hair.

It wasn't very often that Claus had praised others like that, not even Lucas. Lucas grinned in appreciation of the praise and swam over to the edge to try and convince Nichol to swim with them once more.

"You don't have to dive in, Nichol," Lucas reassuringly explained. "Just dip in, the water isn't too cold either!"

Nichol was both reluctant and tempted. As he stepped out of his shoes, he informed the three, "I can't really swim…"

"Oh…" Lucas said and frowned in pity. Lucas couldn't remember a time of never knowing how to swim. He can remember just jumping in with Claus and enjoying the refreshing cold. "That's unfortunate…"

"No it isn't! It's as you said, all he's gotta do is dip in and cling to an edge!" Claus exclaimed.

"That doesn't sound fun," Fuel replied to Claus's exclamation. "Maybe we can teach him to swim or something…"

"I…don't mind holding onto a edge at all, really. The cold water is tempting, I don't really need to swim to cool off," Nichol tried to explain in hopes to ward off the name callings of 'wimp' from Claus. After he bashfully took off his undershirt, he really wished he wore shorts like the other three.

"Just take them off! You have underwear!" Claus shouted rather loudly to Nichol's dismay. Claus was encouraged more by Fuel's amused nudging. Lucas frowned for Nichol, he understood just exactly what he was going through right now, but he had no words of advice to give.

"No, I wear briefs!"

"Haha, briefs…" Claus murmured to himself in amusement.

"Guys, underwear choice is personal…" Lucas reminded the two and to try and subtlety save Nichol from dying from heat and embarrassment.

Nichol was now re-deciding things. He could go back home, but that would be a long walk, especially boring alone. Or he could just dive in his underwear and get relief.

Such a hard choice.

Nichol lost Claus's attention and he was glad that the sassy boy had more fun floating around on his back and that Fuel was getting a kick out of pretending to be a floating dead body. Only Lucas kept his attention on him. Even though his attention was sympathetic, it was still embarrassing for him.

"There's no girls here, at least," Lucas tried to console once more. There were sweat droplets on the poor kid's forehead now. His cheek pockets gushing with blood was probably worsening his temperature. "Come on, Nichol, you can't dip in with your knees covered. Yes, it's unfortunate you have on long pants, but its not so bad! Dive in! Cool off! Relax!"

Nichol had to admit Lucas' was subtlety teasing whether he was aware of it or not, but it was much better than what Claus or Fuel would have dished out on him and his briefs. He was almost hot enough for his glasses to start steaming and fogging up. He gave in and removed his pants, immediately getting Claus and Fuel's attention with a chant of 'go go go' echoing from them. Pants were finally gone as he quickly rushed in and clung to the edge.

"Niiiichol! Yeah!" Fuel and Claus continued in their deep 'party' voices.

Lucas gave Nichol a simple pat on the back.

For awhile, Fuel and Claus played while Lucas sat on the side lines keeping the house-and-land-loving Nichol some company in the cool water

"You boys must be prunes! Being in there for what I presume to be all morning!"

"Mom! Wassup?" Claus greeted with his shriveled up hands.

"You boys didn't even bring towels! I knew to bring extras with me," Hinawa continued and placed two down on a rock for Nichol and Fuel while she had one for each of her boys in hand. Lucas crawled out of the water and took a towel his mother caringly offered him and started to dry up right away, even though he felt he could let the sun do the drying for him.

"Who needs towels in this heat?" Claus argued and sunk further into the water, just enough for his nose to be above to breathe.

"Boys who want to see grandpa Alec and the Dragos, that's who!" Hinawa teased as she put Lucas shirt on him for him.

Claus raced to the edge of the lake immediately at that answer. He climbed out shouting, "Dragos?!"

"Mmhmm," Hinawa replied while handing him a towel he snatched from her in excitement.

"I wish my grandpa was Alec…" Fuel muttered under his breath as he pouted.

"You can come with us, if you want, you two," Hinawa informed as she shook out the dirt from Claus's shirt he carelessly tossed away.

"No thank you, Hinawa," Nichol politely declined bashfully. "I think I've walked and done enough today…" He chuckled weakly and sunk in a little further into the cool lake as if it were a relaxing hot-spring.

Fuel pouted further at the invite and mumbled, "Dad's not even in town today..."

"Awww, there's always next time, Fuel," Hinawa reassured Fuel sweetly and gripped onto her two son's hands.

"Alright, mom! To Grandpa!" Claus sang and dragged both Hinawa and Lucas in a chain-like fashion. To Claus's impatient dismay, they were stopped in town by Hinawa to go see Nan and Tessie. Nan was just Nan to the twins, but Tessie was always so weird to them both. A little too touchy and nice, even for Lucas's liking. But he politely just dealt with it.

Tessie pinched the blonde's cheek and cooed, "Happy birthday, Sweetie!"

"Technically, my birthday is June twenty-second because I was born at 12:01 AM while Claus was born June twenty-first at 11:57PM but… I just go ahead with the twenty-first because it's easier and less confusing…"

Claus rolled his eyes whenever Lucas pulled out the technical birthday thing. Whenever Lucas brought that up, it was like he was saying they weren't twins to him. He didn't feel like getting into the matter right now because he wanted to go see some Dragos! Even more so than he wanted to see his grandpa! When Tessie pinched his cheeks, he immediately countered with, "Hey, hey, I'm eleven years old, lady."

Nan chuckled at his words and said, "I wonder what my little ol' Alle will be like when she is the biiiig eleven!"

"I hear sarcasm, woman!" Claus retaliated, his manly ego already being scratched at by their feminine verbal claws. Even Hinawa laughed. Claus huffed and asked, "Hey, you, you promised Dragos, Mom!"

"Yes I did. But we can't go through that forest without any drinks and snacks now can we?"

"Dad doesn't need a lot of water."

"Yes he does, Sweety. And he even has that cute canister I made him holding it all in," Hinawa cooed with a sickeningly sweet smile to bring more pain and tears to her gruff son.

"Dad doesn't do cute either!" he whined, ready to run away from these evil women. He could swear that even Lucas was giggling at him as he brushed Boney's frizzled fur from the heat.

"Men don't whine, Snookums," Hinawa sprinkled over her previous attack.

Claus grumbled and wandered outside in defeat of the evil giggling women. He would get Lucas later for breaking the twin code of sticking up for the other no matter how petty and futile!

.-.-.-.-.

Claus was still pouty during their walk through sunshine forest, but not enough to totally ignore Hinawa, Boney and Lucas. He loved company, food, and attention far too much to do so. The less forest he saw, the more excited and less pouty he got.

Boney sensed this, and wondered if he should grumble that he may be harassed by the energetic snapper or be joyed that Dragos were apparently cooler than he was. With the latter, he could sleep under a porch, or go back home while Claus bothered them instead. Claus was cheering and his step had a ton of pep because they were walking on a dry sandy like area. This meant they were only a mere couple of yards or so away from Alec's house. If Claus was close to skipping in joy, it only meant one thing.

Get in front of him!

He got in front of the red-head the moment he sprinted ahead of them all but Boney. It hurt to have Claus's blue shoes bump into his ribs so roughly, but it was worth it to see him fall onto an ant hill and roll around screaming. Not even Claus could deal with hundreds of tiny insects crawling on him all at once.

Probably no man could.


	9. Chapter 9

Claus was lucky to have had clothing over at his grandfather's house. His mother had to repetitively dump a lot of bucketed water to douse the ants from him and his clothing. She even had to comb through his hair to make sure that there weren't any hiding in his fluffy red hair. He was sulking in a chair as she combed through his hair just a little more to make _extra_ sure that they were really off of her child.

Hinawa's father was amused as he watched his daughter comb through her son's hair. He teased his grandson, "Pretty lucky you hardly grew so your old clothes still fit. Huh, Squirt?"

The red-headed boy who always lived up to his hair color scowled at his pesky grandfather. He was also growing agitated of his mother's constant combing, even if she was doing so for his well being. He felt like she had done so long enough and also felt that this was speeding up the process of being stuck under a hat like his father Flint. He scooted out of the chair with the comb still in his thick hair and said, "Thanks, Mom, but I think all of the ants are off of me now!"

"I'm just making sure, Honey," Hinawa said and plucked the comb out of his hair and smiled at his surprised cry. She giggled,"Your hair is so adorably thick."

"Hopefully it'll stubbornly stay in its socket then!" he snorted and headed for the stairs, ignoring Alec's roars of laughter at his smart-mouthed comment on his father's baldness. He hurried up the stairs to find his twin so that they could finally ride the dragos, unlike last year when they couldn't because their mother claimed they weren't old enough. The idea caused the eagerness to boil up inside more, and in excitement, he called for his twin and ran into the room to find his twin buried under the covers and snoring. He strode over to the bed and pulled the covers off of him, forcing the still strong and bright summer sun to shine all over his twin's face.

Lucas covered his eyes and muttered, "Buzz kill."

"No! We get to ride the dragos this year! Don't sleep the opportunity away!" Claus pleaded and shook his twin's shoulders.

"I-I'll go, Claus. Just that the sun suddenly hitting my face like that could give me a headache. You shaking me won't help either," he said and frowned.

Claus replied, "I'll be out front, okay? Don't sleep on me!" and hurried downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs he saw his mother quietly writing at the dinner table. Being the trouble making rascal that he was, he tackled her chair and got a shriek from her that he found amusing.

Hinawa wasn't in the mood to play with her son and handed him a bread roll from the table and said, "Here, have a bread roll."

Claus took the roll and looked up confused, because very rarely was she annoyed with his antics. He asked, "What for?"

"Just take the roll…Mommy's busy," she sighed and returned to writing whatever she was writing.

"A letter," she flatly said as she continued to write the letter.

Claus grinned and asked, "What kinda letter and to who?"

Hinawa groaned and answered, "A letter to your father, Claus."

"But you didn't say what kinda letter!" Claus chuckled and tugged at Hinawa's dress.

"Just a letter, Claus. Go outside and play!" Hinawa answered rather angrily and pointed towards the door.

In shock, Claus immediately let her dress go and looked at her with a hurt expression for a few moments. He expected her to apologize, but her stern expression stayed intact as did the arm pointing to the door. He slugged his feet to the outdoors and sat on the stoop waiting for Lucas to come out. He didn't see Boney napping anywhere and figured he must've went back home, expecting a blue shoe to the face if he had stayed.

"Smart dog…" he muttered.

Lucas saw the way that his mother angrily sent off Claus and was rather intimidated himself. But he promised Claus that he would be outside and didn't want his brother's flame to be totally put out, and on a birthday no less. Even if he was curious about what put his mother in such a sour mood, he hurried past her to meet with his sulking older twin.

"Claus…Let's go see them! They're only a few minutes away!" Lucas spoke in the most energetic voice that he could muster. Claus continued to sulk even as Lucas tugged at his shirt that was his favorite shade of green and yellow. He couldn't be so down in his favorite colors near dragos! "Pleeeease?"

Claus looked at his twin with that same frown he had given Hinawa. He felt like a genuine unwanted pest and asked Lucas, "Do you find me annoying?"

"No, of course not! And I want to play with you! With some dragos! Please, Claus?" Lucas answered and tugged as his brother's hands.

Claus hesitantly chuckled, "You're right. We should." and got up from the stoop and led the way with a tight hold of Lucas's hand. When they entered the meadows east of Alec's house, they saw all the dragos walking around and minding their own businesses.

Lucas pointed to little dragos that hopped around and squealed, "Those weren't here before!"

"Babies!" Claus exclaimed and ran further into the field.

Lucas looked for the Drago couple that he and Claus play with every year since they were eight years old. He saw that the mother was curled up and resting and that the father recognized him and roared for him to come over. Lucas and Claus ran over to the tall drago who playfully growled his hello to the tinier ones before him. The smaller ones looked up to the pale green creature and mimicked a growl of their own. While they were play growling with him, one of the babies that they saw earlier nuzzled his mother and did a little weak growl it tried to make sound strong.

Lucas hurried to the little drago and gave him a gentle rub on the head. He cooed, "You're even smaller than me! You're so cute!"

"Gaooo," it roared in appreciation in it's undeveloped voice. Lucas squealed again and hugged the chubby and small drago.

The father drago enticed Claus enough for him to tackle him. Realistically, no tiny person could knock him over, not even a fully grown mascular adult would be able to knock him over. But papa-drago was a playful guy and played along with the red head's tackle, falling over with a fake defeated cry.

"Yeah! I'm awesome!" Claus cheered and watched the drago get up and go into a playfully defensive stance. Claus growled mischievously and tackled the drago yet again.

He did as before and playfully cried and rolled over. His relaxed female companion was still curled up but snorted at how child-like her companion was. Not that she minded, as long as he kept the wild one from jumping on her head again like last year. She liked how the blonde one tenderly cared for her newborn. She wasn't the least bit surprised because that was the very same kind boy who wrapped a bandage on her injured tail when they first met. She wouldn't mind doing favors in return for the gentle boy in the future if he would need her.

Lucas giggled and nuzzled his head onto the little drago and said, "You're like both of them in a tiny little body!"

The little drago happily growled and bumped his head into Lucas's. Just like his voice, the bump was weak and soft.

"Lucas! You're not going to tackle the pop like Claus?" Alec asked in his heartily loud voice.

Lucas frowned as he continued to pet the baby drago. He answered, "No…"

"You're a sugar puff!" he joked to try and get Lucas to tackle the drago, but unlike Claus…

"I know I am!" Lucas easily admitted things and often did not fall for mocking. Alec crossed his arms in defeat, foreseeing that his mocking on the brighter grandson would go no where.

"Nah! The dragos need energy to carry us around!" Claus said and ran over to the pale green drago and climbed up it's back.

Lucas was surprised to have the darker colored drago's hot breath blast up his shirt. He shuddered and turned around to see the that she was offering for him to get on top. He carefully climbed up her head to her neck and gently grabbed her ears just in case. She slowly rose with what sounded like a purr and stretched.

The male drago that Claus was on roared loudly and took the lead. Claus felt like he was strong and on top of the world on this drago. He was up so high, and the drago's heavy steps that caused tremors made it seem like he was doing such.

"This is so awesome!" he shouted at the top of his lungs as the drago sped up in equal amount of excitement.

Lucas and the mother drago were much more quiet and slower paced. He could see the sun setting over some of the rocky cliffs and stared at it. He patted the drago and spoke in awe, "Wow, Mama drago… you get to see sunsets clearly like this all the time…Thank you so much for letting me see too!" The mother drago did her gentle growl as she always had when she 'spoke'. When she saw Hinawa she suggested for Lucas to get down by lowering herself to the ground.

Lucas nuzzled the mother drago's head before getting off of her and running to his own mother. He happily informed, "The dragos let us ride them! And I got to see the sunset on the mama drago's head! It was really pretty!"

Hinawa patted his head and looked for Claus. She saw that he was walking off with Alec with his hands in his pockets. She frowned, feeling bad for how she had treated Claus earlier. It wasn't his fault that she was disappointed and aggravated with Flint being unable to go see her father again. Once inside, she saw that Claus was no where to be seen in the lower rooms.

"He went upstairs to nap, he seems pretty beat!" Alec chuckled and drank a cup of water.

Lucas yawned and asked, "Mama, we can nap, right?"

Hinawa nodded and answered, "Yes, but not for long, alright? We can't walk through that forest at total night time."

Alec laughed again and stated, "Lucas could walk through that forest alone! It's that safe!"

Lucas snorted and headed up the stairs. He knew that he always won against his grandpa when he ignored his mock-games instead of argued back.

Hinawa sadly smiled up the stairs as she held her letter tied with a pink ribbon close to her heart.


	10. Chapter 10

"You should go home before it gets too dark," Alec suggested to his daughter across the table from him. When she didn't respond to his suggestion, he continued on, "I think that letter guilt tripped him enough, don't need to stay here and make him feel more bad, right?"

Hinawa sighed and answered, "Isn't it too late to go home now..?"

"Of course not! Go on, go home!" Alec stated bluntly. Normally, he would let her stay for as long as she wanted, but now she had children to think of. He thought that they would surely be confused about her reluctance to go home and of her behavior if they weren't already. "You two did this stuff as younger adults. Y'got your differences but a lot of good."

Hinawa sighed, "Okay, pop...you're right," and headed up the stairs to get her twins to take home. In the room, her children were still sleeping soundly, so soundly that they could surely sleep until the next morning.

As always, Claus was tangled under Lucas; nearly buried under him. Claus was unaware that both Hinawa and Lucas knew that he done this every night, since as far back as when they were born. One of the reasons Claus woke up so early was to avoid being caught hugging in his sleep; he always wanted to be the strong twin and saw it as a weakness and a sign of being incapable of independence.

For a few short moments, Hinawa watched her children sleep. Lucas's hold on Claus was secure, but not very tight, which was likely on his part to let Claus 'sneak' away in the morning as he normally done. Hinawa giggled at the contrast of her two boys, and how despite this, they were still incredibly close enough to still hug in their sleep. She wondered, "When will they grow out of that..?" She continued to watch her boys hardly move beside their evened breathing; they really were tired.

"Hinawa, I hope you're not sleeping up there!" Alec reminded from below the stairs.

Hinawa sighed and stirred her boys awake. She decided to be humorous and wake her red-headed son first to see his reaction of being caught in the way he sleeps.

Claus slowly opened his eyes and turned their direction to the hand that was stirring his body. His eyes traced up from the small pale hand, to up her thin arms, and finally his mother's smiling face. He slowly rose up and yawned. As he yawned, he stirred Lucas to wake up, "Nap's over, Lucas," he slurred, too tired to notice he was caught.

Lucas had risen up as slowly as Claus had, but his eyes stayed closed as he yawned very loudly. He felt that Hinawa patted him on the head to wake him up more. It didn't work very much, but he slumped out of the bed regardless to look for his shoes.

Claus quickly became more alert than his brother and handed his younger twin his red and yellow shoes after he put on his own blue colored shoes. The two yawned in unison before they walked past their mother and down the stairs. They bumped into their grandfather's huge belly and look up at him with their wakening eyes. Alec patted them both on the head and shooed them to the door. The twins then walked down the stairs of the log house and looked up at the sky that seemed strangely cloudy.

"The clouds look like an odd color," Claus observed and pointed upward.

Lucas looked up and he agreed, "Yeah…they're pretty gray," he said and continued to look at the weird clouds in the sky.

"Come to think of it… have we ever seen gray clouds like that, Lucas?" Claus asked as he saw that the weird clouds even moved oddly.

"No…I don't think so," Lucas responded as he also watched the odd clouds. The color and the movement of the clouds made him very nervous. Normally, he didn't mind strange things that would occur outside, but something about these clouds gave him a bad feeling. He grabbed onto his older brother's arm and pulled to go back into Alec's house.

Claus planted his feet into the ground to avoid being pulled back in by Lucas. He figured that his twin was over reacting over nothing. He pulled his arm away and pointed his twin's direction to the sky and said, "Maybe this is how they look this late at night? We're never outside this late!"

"I don't know, Claus…"

Hinawa stepped out of the house and grabbed for her boys hands. Only Lucas took her hand as Claus went to the other side of Lucas and took his other hand instead of his mother's. Hinawa frowned but figured she would let Claus ride out his displeasure of her presence than prey into the issue. The red-head's grudges never lasted very long. She walked on ahead and stated, "We'll get home quickly, I'm sure your father wants to see you before the day is officially over."

"Are you sure, Mama? The sky isn't normal…" Lucas murmured with worry.

"It's okay, honey. We'll get home quickly and okay," Hinawa cooed and smiled down at her precautious boy. When Lucas nodded, Hinawa walked on ahead and giggled, "Mommy's got you covered!"

The grudge lasted a little while longer than Hinawa predicted. The entire walk so far Claus stubbornly had his cheek puffed up with a displeased expression.

Lucas hated being in the middle of it. He found the situation incredibly awkward, especially when even Hinawa would pull him to her just a little bit when Claus pulled him towards him. Hinawa's strangeness has been confirmed when the two of them kept 'subtlety' pulling him back and forth. He first started to notice when they didn't see their father all day and how urgent she was to take them to their grandfather, but her prior agitation towards Claus, and now this, just confirmed it.

"Mama, are you mad at papa today?" Lucas asked.

The question caught both Hinawa and Claus off guard. It surprised his mother and confused his twin.

"What do you mean?" The two of them asked for entirely different reasons.

"We haven't seen dad all day, you normally see Alec when you're upset and you were—"

"We really need to get home, there could be a bit of a forest fire here," Hinawa stated when she interrupted Lucas and pulled them along rather roughly to change the subject. She felt that was a small and unimportant thing for Lucas to worry about.

"Fire? I don't see a fire!" Claus argued and tried to pull out of Hinawa's tightened grasp. Now even he was suspicious of her behavior.

"The forest is hotter than usual and it explains the dark clouds from earlier!" Hinawa stated and tugged at her reluctant child's arm.

"S-shouldn't we go back to grandpa's then, mom?" Lucas nervously asked and pulled at his own direction.

"No! Calm down, it doesn't seem very bad, you two!" Hinawa urged and pulled her two boys on ahead. "Listen to me and stay as close to me as possible, alright?"

Lucas looked up at his mother and nodded. He was growing more and more terrified as the tears in his eyes shown, but he did have trust in everything that Hinawa said and done. He also knew that Claus was still being difficult, and was strangely still unconvinced. He pulled his twin's arm very gently and was pleased at how he followed him right away. Despite his older brother's roughness towards others, he did prefer to be handled with soft care and was why he gravitated to Lucas so often.

"…The forest is hot…" Claus finally admitted the deeper in the forest they went. He was beginning to sweat and hear crackling noises.

"Mama, are you sure we can keep going this way?" Lucas huffed and puffed in slight fatigue that began to show itself.

Hinawa loosened the top of her dress enough to have it drape off of her shoulders. On normal circumstances she would have never done this because of her modest style and nature. She was shy of her skin showing along with too much of her breasts, but she was getting sweaty and was having difficulty breathing to keep calm for her children. The further she led her kids back home, the hotter it got. She really wished that she had water, especially seeing her little boys huff, puff, and at times, slow to a halt to catch their breath.

"Is it too late to turn back?" Claus whined.

"No, Claus, we're much closer to home than at grandpa's." Hinawa coughed and pushed her boys on ahead. As she continued to push them on ahead, a powerful tremble caused her to trip over them and fall on the ground.

"Mom, that was klutzy of you!" Claus criticized as he tried to push both her and Lucas's weight off of him.

"Didn't you feel that tremor, Claus?" Lucas yelled and nudged him at his mother's defense.

"I thought women were supposed t'have grace or whatever at all costs!" Claus nitpicked in spite and got up from the ground. He stumbled when the same tremor occurred a second time. "Geeze, what is going on?"

A loud roar boomed through the area and sounded disturbingly close to the three.

.-.-.-.-.

Fuel was bored and aggravated ever since the twins skipped off to see dragos for their birthday. He then hung around the outside of his house for a few hours and then inside his home for the next couple.

"Where is dad?" he groaned and opened up his window. His room resided at the very top of the house and it gave him a broad view of the forest whenever he looked out from it. But this time it gave him a very strong and odd smell, along with hues of orange and blackness. He was very appalled and surprised by this and cried out, "What's going on out there?!" He looked everywhere and saw just about everything was on fire. He had never saw anything like this before and really wondered where his father was.

"Daaaad!" he desperately cried out of the window in hopes that his father would bust through the trees and to the house as naïve as that was. When it didn't happen, he panicked more and aimed to run out until he saw a flying blue rat breathe fire where he was trying to run to. The terrifying blue _thing_ buzzed around the house, setting fire to just about everything in his room. Everything he held dear to him and things he didn't think much of until now.

He ran for the window a second time and gave another cry for help. He was just ready to jump out of the window until the flying rat tugged and ripped at his shirt making him fall on his back. When he opened his tear filled eyes, he saw that even his ceiling had caught fire. A piece of supporting wood fell from the ceiling and onto the path to the stairs with a rough rumble. If the smoke, heat, and fear wasn't enough to take his breath away, that was the final blow. As he got on his knees, he lowered to the ground entirely and helplessly covered his head.

He knew whatever else were to fall on him, let alone something on fire, it was over.

He heard more crashes, but he refused to open his eyes and covered his ears when he heard the creature that set fire to his room make a stomach curling scream. He couldn't recall a moment in his life of being this terrified enough to refuse to open his eyes and quake on the floor on his stomach. As he sobbed, he felt a large hand brush through his hair. He weakly murmured, "Dad..?"

"Flint."

Before he could open his eyes, he was lifted and buried into Flint's broad and strong hold. He decided to keep them closed when he felt that Flint was running. He felt the rumble of Flint tackling the plank that was once in the way and kept charging his way out of the house. At the exit, the strong cowboy was caught under the door frame and some other rubble. He shielded Fuel from the heavy objects and loads of ashes weighing on them. After it settled, he rose from the ashes and stepped aside to allow Fuel to stand on his own two legs.

Fuel took notice of this and got up. He could feel and hear that the forest was still ablaze but he was utterly relieved to be out of somewhere he used to feel so safe in. He turned around and tried his best to wipe the soot from his eyes with his soot covered hands. When he did, he saw that his house was in ruins. A heap of nothing but scattered and burnt wood; he felt his already struggling heart drop.

"Come on, we got to get back to town where it's more safe, Fuel," the gruff cowboy stated and walked on ahead.

Fuel followed him and noticed more of the forest was on fire than he would've liked to believe.

.-.-.-.-.

Never had Hinawa felt this intense kind of emotion in her as she defensively stood in front of her sons. After a long run for their lives from a beast, she felt determined to get her sons out of this situation alive even if it meant spending her own life. What stood before them was a menacing beast that was formerly a gentle pale green giant. It was now altered with metal plating covering its body like hideous patches. Its eyes was replaced with red glowing spheres that pierced into their very souls and struck fear in them. It bellowed a low threatening growl, waiting to shred them apart.

Hinawa inched away very cautiously and her boys did the same. They watched and mimicked her every move for guidance. When she suddenly stopped, the Drago roared so loud that the three victims could feel their ear drums ring close to a burst. Hinawa knew the mutilated Drago was growing very impatient and she saw that it was taking a fancy to her children first. She felt her heart beat strongly along with fear flutter roughly in her stomach.

"…Run," she ordered sternly and slowly.

The boys did not obey; their feet still rooted into the ground that was trembling because of their attacker's growls.

Hinawa begun to panic but tried her best to make her voice sound urgent and remain calm, "Run, boys…run now…" Lucas began to inch but Claus holding him in place stuck his feet back into the ground. The Drago's tail swished back and forth as its strong legs twitched to move… "Run!" She screamed and kicked dust to startle them enough to sprint.

The boys ran off tripping and crying as they ran as fast as they could. Claus had a tight grip on Lucas's arm since the blonde was a slow and clumsy runner, and being in this situation only meant worse.

Hinawa tried to follow, but felt a strong force slam into her back that made her hit the ground face first with the rest of her body following the fall shortly after; she felt stunned and paralyzed. The next thing she knew, she was encased into its jaw and felt it press into her rib cage. She released a heart wrenching scream, so loud, it startled the birds out of their hiding places.

Lucas wanted to halt in his tracks hearing that horrible scream he knew who it belong to, but Claus' strong pulls kept him going.

"Claus!" he hollered. His voice broke from his cries and his lungs squeezing and burning from lack of air. Eventually, he thrashed free and fell onto his knees, clutching the dirt between his fingers and in his nails; letting out screechy emotional pain.

Claus was panting heavily from his aching heart and non-stop running, but he knew they had to keep going, and he knew he was the guidance now that their former protector has met her end.

"L-Lucas, we have to go! We can't let him catch us! We have to, we have to!"

"Mom's dead!" he screamed and tossed dirt at Claus, angry at his answer.

Claus ignored the assault and yanked him up from the ground. He ignored his protesting screams and claws at his arm and stated, "We have to go _now!_ " and pulled him along, even if it hurt Lucas physically and him emotionally. Out of the darker part of the forest, Lucas slipped out of his grasp again. "Lucas," he growled annoyed from the stress and fear of everything happening. Lucas backed away and slipped down a broken path that had became a slope. "Lucas!" Claus cried and dived for his brother's arm. He would be damned to let him die too.

When he grabbed his arm, Lucas's speeding weight pulled him down the rough and muddy slope that lead them down to a thrashing river stream along with the rest of the weak rubble that was once a natural bridge. The water was so cold and harsh, it bit and pricked their skin and beat against their faces with rough splashes.

Lucas clung to Claus as Claus tried to shield whatever the water did with them in its merciless ride.


	11. Chapter 11

Fuel had stayed at the inn for what felt like forever. He was glad to see that his father was safe and well, but he was restless that no one had seen his best friends or Hinawa since they've left. He was also bothered that he couldn't help search for them and was told to stay inside. The rain pouring hard enough to make a strong noise through a closed window was their reasoning.

"I guess…catching a cold is better than a dangerous burning forest and weird animals attacking them…" Fuel quietly spoke to himself as he traced circles in the dust on the window seal. He sighed, "I really wish I could help… Seeing Flint look so nervous is so scary."

"Fuel, go to bed and rest a bit," Lighter advised groggily from his bed.

"But, Daaaad, I'm worried…" Fuel whined and knocked on the cold and closed window.

"Just relax, I'm sure they're fine. God protects us, it's raining to take out that fire after all."

"I…guess so…" Fuel replied. When he moved from the window to get to bed, he mumbled, "I hope so…" to himself and got into bed. He stared at the wall in his sleepless state, he couldn't bare to stare up at another ceiling for awhile even though he preferred to lay on his back. He sat back up when he heard his father getting up and heading for the door. He quickly slid his legs out of bed and asked, "Dad, where are you going?"

"I'm restless too," he grunted and headed out of the door.

Fuel got up from the bed and followed after his father. Despite his dad seemingly having a twisted leg earlier, the all man was walking just fine except for his sleepiness. Fuel questioned, "What about your rest, dad?"

"When it stops raining, you can help us if they're not found, alright?" he responded and headed out the door.

Fuel was close enough to the door for the rain to get on his clothes after a howling blow of wind. He wondered if his father gave him a play on words instead of an honest answer. Whether he did or not, there was nothing he could do about it but go back to his 'new room' and rest.

.-.-.-.-.

"Lucas, help me out here!" Claus pleaded. It was like Lucas had given up on life with how heavy and limp his body was. "Lucas, don't give up on me, please!" Claus continued to plead when the slope he was trying to march through pushed more mud down his way.

It took Claus breaking his voice by yelling for his help to inspire Lucas to get the will to work his legs. He has given up on life, but Claus obviously hadn't, and he didn't want to take him down with him to drown in mud caused by the rough wind and rain. His knees buckled as he supported Claus's back to help push him up the slope. As much as he wanted to let his legs give out once they've reached the top, he knew Claus wouldn't have allowed it.

The two of them held onto the other as they shivered and struggled through the darkness and wind that was piercing their worn out ears and bodies. The forest was so dark, not even Claus could find his way around. Eventually, he collapsed onto his hide at the biggest tree he could find and held Lucas close to him. The size of the tree and its leafs shielded most of the rain from falling on them. Even when they held each other this close, they were still afraid and cold. Neither of them had the voice to call for help, and at the same time, they didn't want to, fearing that something else would pop out of the dark their young eyes could barely see in.

After awhile, the rain began to slow to a stop. Even though one thing began to settle down, their hearts did not.

"Claus? Lucas?" a female villager called out.

Lucas clung to Claus with his shivering and paler cold hands as he stared up at him with tired eyes. Claus gulped and tried to give his voice box a go, giving that his legs were too tired and cold to do anything at this point.

"O-over h-here!"

"Oh! Where?"

"T-the biggest t-tree…" he answered lowly. No matter how much he tried at this point, his body couldn't do anything, not even his voice was of much use. He was glad that his arms still worked enough to hold onto Lucas.

It took a few moments until they were found, and when they were, it was the first sense of relief they have felt since this whole ordeal.

Since the twins were rather deep in the forest soaked to an utter mess; Tessie, Bessie, and several other village women cleaned and cared for them the best that they could. The rain had completely stopped by then, so they wrapped them up in a large brown blanket. The twins shared this blanket as their damaged clothes hung up to dry. As warm and soothing as the bonfire before them was, it was incredibly unpleasant to look at or even hear for the twins. Lucas was more buried under the blanket than Claus was. He was shielded under him, even if he was a little taller than his older brother.

Claus regained a little of his strength, and thus had a tighter hold on Lucas and rested his chin in his hair. He hated the sight of the fire as much as Lucas did, but he was able to stare at it without much grief.

"Boys, you got separated from Hinawa..?" Tessie asked as she sat down in front of them. Neither of the boys responded to her question, but she did see that Claus's eyes gave off some sort of answer she couldn't grasp. She was ready to try another question until she heard that someone else was running their way over to the camp. When she turned around, she saw that it was Fuel and stepped aside.

"Claus, Lucas! You're okay!" Fuel exclaimed and ran over to his friends. When the two of them looked up at him, Claus's expression gave off a hint of vulnerability and Lucas looked the most terrified he had ever seen him. When Fuel's eyes looked around a bit, without totally turning his attention away from his friends, he realized Hinawa was not here. He was afraid to ask, but he was going to sit down next to them until he was dragged off by an adult far away from them.

Fuel was annoyed by this, but he could understand why he was moved away from them. He just sat to himself, content with just seeing that they were okay, but he couldn't help but have an ill feeling about Hinawa that made his stomach hurt a little bit. He saw Flint run his way over to his kids and smiled with more relief that some things were beginning to turn out right.

Claus and Lucas immediately rose up from the blanket cocoon they conceived and ran into their father's open arms. They were glad to be in his large arms because they finally felt completely safe and at home. The hug lasted longer than any hug the either of them ever gotten from Flint, and once done, he urged for them to sit back down and wrap back up in their blankets.

The twins watched their father go around questioning everyone that was there. They felt extreme guilt that they knew the answer, but they couldn't tell him; and they used their worn out voices as an excuse as to not tell him legitimately. Heavy and frantic foot steps caught the attention of everyone, especially the highly alert and timid twins. It was Bronson, and he looked horrified; this struck a heavy pang in both of their stomach and hearts because he was holding a large bloodied fang.

"Flint, I have some good news and bad news!" Bronson began as he caught his breath. Once he had a proper posture and his voice wasn't as hoarse, he continued, "The good news is, I found a drago fang! There is nothing else like those when it comes to useful tools!" When he saw Flint's unamused expression, he gulped and decided to just spit out the bad news. "The bad news is…where I found it. I…found it in your wife's heart."

The twins hid their faces from the other adults. They knew she was dead all along but had said nothing. They felt even worse that they couldn't even tell their father, let alone build up the will to. While the twins were hiding their faces, they heard a terrifyingly vicious noise of wood slamming down on the fire that once kept them warm. When they opened their eyes, they saw that their father hit Ollie with a charred piece of large wood.

Lucas winced and returned to his position under Claus's chest. But hearing the frantic yells of the adults caused him to peek an eye at the chaos. The very chaos that crawled down to the pit of his sensitive stomach.

"Flint! Flint! Your kids are watching! Your kids are watching!" Bronson yelled in desperation as he tried to wrestle the the large piece of wood from the raging reckless man.

The very man that Claus used to admire like no other and felt so safe around now terrified him. His snarls, the way his blows made people fly yards away from where they once stood, and simply his lack of sense was scary. He felt that if hearing the news from Bronson could rile such a hellish wrath out of Flint, he could only imagine what he could possibly do them for not telling him first. The mere thought caused his heart to ache as he desperately held his quaking brother as close to him as he could, as if he was trying to pull him into his heart.

Fuel was just as scared as the twins were. As much as he wanted to go over to them and huddle into a the hug with them, he feared that he would get smashed on the way there. As always when he panicked, he wished for his father to be here and take care of things as he used to. But today, he seemed to be letting him down until he saw his father rush in sight. Fuel felt his hope start to be restored until he saw his father smash his own large piece of wood into the back of Flint's head, shattering the hope of things being fixed.

Claus's grip on Lucas was an unbreakable constriction now. His eyes were so wide with horror he could swear they could pop out of their sockets; something he wouldn't mind happening at the moment. No matter how much Lucas desperately asked him 'what happened', he refused to tell him or let him see.

.-.-.-.-.

The next morning was incredibly solemn for the entire population of Tazmilly. Despite all that had happened yesterday, Claus and Lucas woke up from their sleep over and over, having the exact same dream as if their minds were connected. Dreams of her screams, forest flames, and murky dark water that engulfed them. Claus wasn't in the most formal of funeral attire, he was in black shorts with a white shirt that was accompanied with a black tie. While Lucas reluctantly got dressed, he left the inn, feeling his heart squeeze and bleed at hearing Lucas's tantrum.

"Where is he going?" Bessie asked concerned and alarmed.

Lucas sobbed, "To get Fuel…"

Fuel was over at where his house used to be. It was almost a hard task to do because of all the open space and charred paths. He almost lost his way, but his heart managed to guide him to the rubble that the sun shined on. His favorite old stump somehow managed to survive the blaze and he sat on it as he stared at his house. For whatever reason, as much as he stared, he couldn't cry, even as much as he wanted to. He watched little clots of ash roll around and make weird noises. He hadn't a clue on what they were, but he had an urge to kick them in frustration.

If only he could get up from his stump he would

"Fuel," Claus called for Fuel in his now weak voice.

Fuel turned around and frowned at the sight of Claus's stoic expression. He replied, "Hey, Claus…"

"You're…not coming?" he asked, still trying to keep his emotions in check. He felt that if he managed to keep his emotions and tears inside, Lucas could possibly feel better and not scream or dry his eyes out anymore. He also figured that since Lucas favored Fuel so much in the past, that him being there would put him at ease as well. This wasn't his only reason he came to pick up their friend, he genuinely wanted Fuel there himself, because he was family to them, even if he had no desire to admit it.

Fuel sighed and got up from his slightly burnt stump. After giving his rubble home one last look, he turned to Claus and locked his amber eyes with Claus's emerald ones before he said, "I'm sorry."

Claus looked at him confused and quietly asked, "Why?" As often as he and Fuel went at each other's hair in rivalry, he was honestly confused and surprised to hear Fuel say such words and so solemnly.

Fuel brushed his fingers through his brown hair and answered, "Because I am being sad over a lost house…while you and Lucas lost your mom and…Flint being hurt and…and…" Fuel could barely explain himself without starting his water works.

Claus frowned and gave him a close hug; the closest he had ever given Fuel. He rested his chin on his jerking shoulders and patted him on the back. "Lets go, Fuel," he said and grabbed his hand. He did not walk when he did. He was waiting for confirmation if he wanted to go or not. When Fuel tightened his grip on his hand, he pressed forward.

.-.-.-.-.

When they arrived at the funeral, Lucas was on his knees crying loudly as he clung onto their mother's grave stone. At the sight of this, Claus immediately released his hold on Fuel's hand and hurried to Lucas. He got on his own knees and gripped his little brother's shoulders tightly, unsure of what to say or do, especially with the feeling his heart was giving him. It was like it was so broken it could no longer beat, but it struggled to regardless.

"Lucas…" he murmured to him and brushed his blonde hair. Lucas was simply devastated, even with Claus petting through his hair.

Claus gulped when he saw more people cover their mouths and turn their heads away in utter pity.They even started to leave, muttering 'poor things', as they left. Claus didn't understand this, he wanted to know why they were all leaving, leaving him behind with his twin he had no idea on how to help. The only one who hadn't left was Fuel; if their grandfather were here, he hoped he wouldn't have left them too.

The minute Fuel joined in on the hug he wanted to be in since last night, Claus finally cried and clung to the both of them.


	12. Chapter 12

Claus observed once more how Lucas lied in the bed almost motionlessly as he had for a couple of weeks. Lucas was never very active in the past, but he was always one to be neat and proper, something you had to move and get out of the bed for. Lucas's hair was a mess, and had most likely become very greasy over the period of time he had laid there for. The bed was also just as unkempt, and Claus had wondered if the bed had gotten a mind of its own and kept Lucas tangled in it. He never saw Lucas get out of it, even if he wasn't home himself very often. He noticed that the time he spent out of the house was a little extra to make up for the time Lucas spent inside. Lucas never left that door once since Hinawa was buried and said that he wouldn't until Flint came home.

Just sometimes Lucas would shift to his other side, but more often he would lie on his stomach while he clutched his chest. Lucas barely spoke as well, and Claus couldn't understand why he was like this. It was long enough for him to ask, "Are you sick..?"

It took Lucas a few moments to respond to his words before he shifted over in what looked like to be in pain. His eyes-lids were heavy, and his eyes were as dark as the circles under his eyes. Claus had saw Jackie with bags under his eyes, but he had never seen colored bagged eyes like he saw on Lucas. When Claus repeated his question, Lucas answered, "I am sick…very sick."

Claus grew scared at his answer and wondered why hadn't he asked Lucas if he was sick earlier. All he could ask at the moment was, "Do you know what it is..?" Lucas silence worried him enough to try and find a new question. He had so many, and the first one to escape his worried heart to out of his lips was, "What hurts..? Your stomach?"

"…My heart," Lucas answered hoarsely. He felt his eyes burn up again when he stared at Claus's worried and curious emerald eyes. A pair that were much larger and bright than his were. He didn't want to turn those eyes into what his became and faced the bed's post. He felt his heart ache more and said, "Sorry about throwing dirt at you," just as hoarsely. He rarely spoke so his voice was as rusty as an old unused machine.

Claus frowned at the memory and how random that apology was. He didn't want Lucas to feel any more worse since he was 'sick' and quickly answered, "That was forever ago, Lucas… And it's just dirt…" He saw his twin sadly smile to that and tried to change the subject to his sickness to see what he could do. "Lucas, what can I get to make you feel better? What can I do..?"

"I…" Lucas began, ready to honestly tell him he hadn't a clue, but he didn't want to put Claus through the same he been through. He finished as gently as his voice could get, "It…it will get better over time…and with your support. If you weren't here, I surely would have died from it by now…"

Claus made his way over to the bed and got on his knees to be face to face with Lucas. He heard Lucas's somewhat raspy breathers and pat his hand through his hair; it really _was_ greasy. "There's really nothing… specific?"

"I…don't think so," Lucas answered while trying to shift away from Claus. His complex of cleanliness around others making a slight return.

"…Do your nightmares add strain?"

"…Nightmares?" Lucas repeated Claus's question. He wondered if he made a fuss in his sleep or spoke about his nightmares in his sleep. He didn't recall them much, but now he was worried if Claus got a peek of his ill heart that had the potential to be contagious to his more naive and simple brother. Lucas had no resentment or envy of Claus's naive nature and wished not to taint it.

Claus leaned his forehead onto his twin's and asked, "That drago. It makes you cry?"

Lucas couldn't turn his head away from Claus this time. His twin had his hand on the back of his head and his forehead placed on his. As much as he tried to prevent himself from crying, tears fell from his eyes without even having the need to build up first. He still had control over his words as always, however.

There was a moment of silence between the two before Claus backed away from Lucas.

"Lucas," he called for his twin's attention. He smiled when he looked up at him and sat up a little in the process. This further fueled the ideas he started to share with him. "We should go to Mom's grave again, Lucas. Please get dressed."

Lucas looked at him albeit appalled and responded with, "But…why?"

"Wouldn't it be nice to visit? Please, Lucas, I'm sure it'd be nice…it's all I ask for."

"Well…okay…" The solemn twin complied and started to slowly untangle himself from the bed that seemed to have absorbed his shape as apart of it.

"I'll be downstairs waiting!" he said and quickly ran down the stairs. Downstairs, he could have waited at the door or outside, but instead he wandered to the far end of the house that either of them rarely wandered to. He almost went to the kitchen first, but he felt what he was looking for would turn out better here, and he was right when he saw a large knife rest on a high shelf. He was a little short and grabbed Hinawa's old stool from the sewing wheel in order to take the knife down.

Once he had the knife in his grasp, he felt a strong rush flush through his body he had never felt before. He had never been up close to a knife before, let alone held onto one. For some reason he felt more powerful than he would have thought after obtaining it. Despite hearing stories of Flint hunting with this knife, the way it glistened and looked so smooth made him think otherwise. He traced his fingers from the upper-side of the knife, to the middle-side and lowly thought aloud, "It really is smooth…would this work?" As he thought aloud, his finger traced the face of it and was nicked only slightly.

He was surprised that he was cut there when he thought only the very underside of the knife would do the cutting. He sucked the blood from his little cut and looked around for something to hide the knife in. He saw a brown-leather waist pouch and grabbed for it after he finished sucking on his injured finger. He hooked the pouch onto the side of his shorts and slipped the large knife into it. The handle of the knife showed, but he felt like he could come up with a good excuse if anyone asked.

As he walked to the door he felt his heart beat faster with each step, but despite the rush he felt, his legs did not get weak and neither did he feel faint; he felt a strong amount of determination. When he made it to the door, he breathed heavily a few times to calm his posture. He didn't want Lucas to ask him too many questions or any adult to twist them around in their word game to get him in trouble. He had the knife, he had the will, and he had the back up plan… he just needed this one moment with Lucas.

Lucas's steps were heavy and somewhat reluctant when he walked down the stairs. The only thing off from his used to be usual attire was that his hair was very lackluster. Claus didn't comment, he instead smiled and said, "Okay, let's go."


	13. Chapter 13

Walking with Lucas felt like walking with a stranger.

Lucas was distant from Claus and did not utter a single word the entire time they've walked together; he kept his hands in his pockets and eyes to the ground. Claus was uneasy at this, and hoped that he could make Lucas feel better with what he thought was a deed of good will. He wanted to talk with Lucas one last time before he went to see if this was what he had to do.

Lucas was suspicious of Claus's behavior. His walk was different, and just his overall posture was. The new edition to his attire on his waist rose his suspicion further. Despite these suspicions, he still didn't have the will to speak to him, especially at the sight of his mother's grave directly under the sunlight. Immediately upon arrival to it, Lucas bent down and stroked the headstone.

Claus slowly moved to the scene and stood as tall as he could next to Lucas. He wanted to be noticed, and he wanted to appear strong to Lucas; to seem reliable to him. When Lucas paid more attention to the stone, he tried to make his presence more known.

"Lucas..."

"Claus, why are you carrying a knife?" Lucas asked without turning his eyesight towards Claus.

Claus winced and turned his gaze towards Lucas, his expression was sheer shock. He didn't think it was that obvious that he had a knife on him, at least to his naivety. He was unsure of what to say besides gripping Lucas's shoulder.

"Hrm..."

Lucas turned his head around and looked up at him with a stern expression. He repeated, "Why are you carrying a knife?"

"Because!" was all Claus said in reply as he turned around, _wanting_ to walk, but something deep inside held his legs in place.

Lucas stayed where he was as his eyebrows began to furrow the longer it took Claus to explain himself. He didn't want Claus to do anything crazy and gotten up from his knees to face Claus face to face; even if his nose was a little close to his twin's forehead.

"Claus."

"Look, I'm going to fight the drago, okay?" he answered and stepped back from his younger twin. "I got this!"

"With a knife?" Lucas argued and pointed to the handle sticking out of the thick leather pouch. "Don't you remember that thing? It's huge! It breathes fire! A simple step causes quakes! And you expect to kill it with a knife? What are you going to stab? It's foot?"

"Not just a knife!" Claus shouted and stomped his foot. "I can do something else to bring it down first!" when Lucas rolled his eyes in disbelief and disapproval, Claus felt a burn to prove himself right here and now; something he didn't share with Lucas, yet.

He snapped his fingers a few times before his fingers had conducted electricity. The yellow energy jaggedly circled around his hand as he displayed his opened palm to Lucas. "See? I can do this! I can just point my finger and zap it! Just like a lightning bolt!"

Lucas was utterly amazed—stunned at the weird occurrence that was circling his brother's hand like that. But when he saw his smug smile at his expression, he quickly said, "I-I highly doubt that little thing could take it down!"

"Yeah it can! I can make it bigger! I'm just saving my energy! I gotta walk there and stuff!"

"No, stupid! Mom's dead, Dad's dead, and now you're wanting to go and die?!" Lucas yelled in the strongest volume he had in his life. He felt a bit of heart ache at Claus's expression, but he was doing whatever it took to get him to cut it out, and he figured being harsh would do the trick.

"Dad's not dead!"

"What person sleeps for that long?!" Lucas continued to yell at Claus.

"H-he breathes! And that matters!" Claus shouted back, his voice breaking from not just his volume, but from his feelings and the level of doubt Lucas was displaying towards him. "I'll show you! I'll show you and I'll make you happy once it's gone!" he screamed and ran off.

"Claus! Claus! I-I'm happy with you just being here!" Lucas panicked when he saw that Claus was still running away. He ran after him and shouted, "I love you, don't do this!"

"And that's all I need!" he replied and ran away faster.

Lucas felt like his heart had stopped when Claus had become nothing but a faint dot to his eyesight. His body trembled all over, and the shiver that went into his gut made him want to throw up. He covered his mouth and breathed heavily, feeling like he had lost control of his lungs. With the trembling failing to cease, he fell onto his knees and stared at the grass that was shredded by his rambunctious twin's foolish sprinting. His own words flowed in his head, _'Mom's dead, Dad's dead, and now you're wanting to die?'_

Lucas swallowed that uneasiness and nausea down and got up to the best of his abilities. He took a few more deep breathers and ran to town, knowing that he could not do this alone. He was glad the first person he had ran into was the ever worried Fuel. Without hesitation he cried out, "Fuel! Fuel! Get the adults!"

"W-why? What's wrong? Lucas, don't make your lungs explode! Sit down!"

"I-I-I can't sit d-down, Fuel! Claus ran off to the Drago plateau and I have to stop him! Just get the adults, please!" he cried and ran home to get the help of Boney.

Fuel was going through his own level of shock, but couldn't let Lucas down. His father was near by and he quickly screamed for his attention, everyone's attention, that Claus ran to the drago plateau.

.-.-.-.-.

Once Claus felt like he was a good distance away from Lucas, he slowed down and tried to catch his breath, but his endless running wasn't the only thing making his heart pound and his eyes sting. Even though frogs roamed the river he was resting at, he cupped water into his hand and sipped it. The water here was strange, but not as strange as the water near the pink shell house. It was a hot spring, but it felt different from the other hot springs and even tasted different. He thought back to the weird people he had met the first time he visited. They were very odd to him, something he thought he would never see. Getting to them was even weirder.

" _Hey! Fluffy haired human!" a frog spoke through Claus's mind when he had stepped out of his house._

_Claus jumped in surprise and looked around for whoever referred to him as as a 'fluffy haired human', but all he saw was a croaking frog._

" _Down here, boy," he heard in his head once more._

_Claus looked down and raised an eyebrow._

" _What?" he asked._

" _Yes, me. The croaking guy," the frog continued to reply in his mind._

" _...What's going on?" the confused fluffy haired person asked, bewildered by this but not scared._

" _Congratulations!" the frog cheered and leaped high into the air._

" _What? What is going on?"_

_"When you can hear a frog or well, any animal, but specifically a frog, you are special!" the frog explained to him as it continued to leap in excitement._

" _...I'm special?" Claus asked with a smile of interest._

" _Yes! You should follow the lead of other frogs to the sunshine forest river! There, you pick the right frog and you'll go across some place_ _fabulous_ _ **!**_ _"_

_Claus tilted his head and replied, "Uh...okay..." and got up from crouching down._

" _Happy travels!" the frog said and returned to behaving like a regular ol' frog._

_Once Claus made it through the ruined Tazmilly forest, he made it to where he was instructed to go. He approached the nearest frog and began, "So a fro-"_

_The frog did not look at Claus, but it interrupted him._

" _No."_

_"...No? What do you mean, 'no'?" Claus asked, already ready to start a fight with this frog denying him from being special._

" _I am the wrong frog."_

_Claus stared at the 'wrong' frog for a few moments before he turned to the other frog right next to the 'wrong' frog. "So..."_

_"I am the right frog," the frog said and turned to the river side and croaked a couple of times._

" _Right hand side...right..." he murmured to himself feeling a little slow, but annoyed at the terrible and possibly indirect joke of the frogs. He saw that frogs lined up in the river and turned back to the frog who summoned them. "So...what?"_

_"Cross them," the frog on the left said without moving much as always._

" _...How?"_

_"Walk on 'em, obviously," the frog said and kept that same posture of his partner._

_Claus was confused and felt uneasy about this, but since it was hot anyway, he thought the possibility of sinking into the water wouldn't do much harm. He took his first step on the first frog and was surprised to hear it croak and feel it bob in the water. The shock made him leap to the next frog, and to the next frog when the rest of them did the same loud and abrupt croaking. Before he realized it, he was on the other side of the river, a place he had never been to before._

_He felt more overwhelmed than excited. He never been this far away from home on his own before. While he was looking back and across the water, he nearly jumped out of his flesh when he felt a dainty tap on his shoulder._

" _Ohohoho, how cute!" a deep, but lively voice said in adoration._

_Claus turned around to the horrifyingly deep voice that spoke like a woman. His jaw dropped when he connected his sight with who touched him._

_What he saw before him was someone with pink hair that was finely trimmed but had a long curl on the forehead of the person. The person's strong and manly shaped face looked newly shaved...and colored. He figured this person's eyelids were lowered because his—hers eyelashes were so thick. Even their lips looked thicker than they should be, and they were incredibly red and glossy. His eyes quickly scanned up and down and he saw that this person looked like a man in woman's clothing._

_In sheer confusion he asked, "...Are you a man?"_

_"Heavens no, sweetie!" she giggled._

" _...A woman?" Claus asked in disbelief as his eyes continued to scan up and down, trying to register this into his brain._

_"Hehe, maybe!"_

_"Then what are you?" Claus asked loudly in frustration, confusion and just a little bit of disgust._

" _Beautiful!" The mysterious person before him answered and posed by sticking their beautiful hips out. Claus's jaw dropped again, trying to find something, -anything- to say but he just couldn't. When the beautiful person took his hand, he wanted to take it back, but the person's grip was strong; like a man's. He was so confused._

" _I'm Ionia, sweetie! And you are?"_

_"C-Claus..." Claus spoke in reflex. If he had more control, he would've screamed and ran home to Lucas._

" _Ah. You're the one my precious little froggies spoke of~ Come with me!"_

_Claus was unsure if he wanted to be special anymore, but at this point he had no choice being stuck in the strong hold of Ionia's. When Ionia opened the door to the giant sea shell..._

_There was more of them._

Claus sighed heavily once the memory finished. He wanted to tell someone about _that_ adventure, but they wouldn't take him seriously for sure, and he didn't want to give Lucas anymore possible nightmare fuel. He sighed when he thought of Lucas again, and was beginning to have feelings of reconsideration the more he sat here. Claus got up from resting and poked the 'right' frog and said, "I'm ready to cross again..."

The frog croaked the same way it had before and the frog bridge appeared as it had before.

Claus leapt across the frogs and ran into the shell house. He was surprised to see that there was only one in here, the one that sat in a big and pink chair. This one was rather short and had a large afro, a kind of hair Claus had never seen before, so he often stared at it. Even now he did, but he still managed to call, "Aeolia..."

"Yes, little red-head?" Aeolia answered and fixed her dress from her long lived leg crossing.

"I want to...confirm this power of mines!"

"How so?"

"L-like...how to use it right. Or make it bigger...or..."

"Oh, you want better control?" she asked him. When Claus nodded, Aeolia sat up more and clapped in approval. "Ah, celebration is over I see, let me get up and show you," she said and got up with a huff and a slightly inelegant grunt from sitting so long. She made it to Claus with her clicking heels and grabbed his hand.

"W-where are we going?" Claus asked. He was still nervous to be around the people who referred to themselves as 'magypsies', but he felt he _had_ to make sure before he went to the drago. Even Lucas gave him doubt.

"To the spring~" Aeolia sung and pulled him through the door.

.-.-.-.-.

Lucas was in the church praying to god.

Lucas had felt bad that he was praying to someone he had not prayed to for months and even cursed the existence of, but he had no one to honestly turn to for guidance. His body was kneeling as low to the floor as he could be as he pleaded, "Please, god, I'm sorry but...please help me...please. I don't want my brother to die. I promise—I _swear_ that I will never curse your existence ever again! I-I really...need..." he could barely get his words together as he started to shake and cry.

Boney whined and knelt besides Lucas, offering his own kind of prayers to their god in case he felt that Lucas had lost his nerve. When Lucas stood with regained determination, he did as well. He barked and and tugged at his shorts to hurry on. Lucas patted his head and ran out of the church to see an odd creature the shape of an arrow point towards a direction. He paused to question it's strange existence, but he remembered Claus and decided to run to where the lizard had pointed, hoping he wasn't being delusional about this. He felt like he had to stop doubting god and just trust it for once. Eventually, he was led to the very river he and Claus washed up at and he cringed. Not only was it the same river, it appeared to be a dead end. He was ready to curse until he saw that the frogs were all massively croaking to one another.

He was intrigued by this, distracted even, until he heard rough splashing in the river. He turned his direction and saw that the frogs were lining up like a bridge.

"This is surreal..." he whispered to himself and stared in amazement at the frog bridge. It took until Boney barking for him to snap out of it and he bravely jumped on one frog and onto the next. He was surprised he managed to cross the bridge with ease, let alone a questionable bridge of frogs, but as of late during this chase, he had no time to think of logic. During his inner debating, Boney yanked him behind a tree. "W-what, Boney?"

Boney was panting as he pointed his nose up ahead.

There was Claus running into a cave up ahead. Lucas was relieved to see that he was closer to Claus than he honestly would have expected to be, and ran after him with Boney resuming lead with his trusty nose. As Lucas was in the cave, he could hear Claus's reckless footsteps echo around the hallow cave. Lucas didn't want to put too much pressure on Boney, and worried the mud and various other things in the cave would throw off his nose, so he tried to focus on his hearing as well.

They thankfully did not run into any dead ends but had difficulty climbing up a vine for a ladder. At the top, Lucas could see Claus again, and he was running out into the light. The sight made his heart hurt thinking of the saying 'walking into the light'. It was all too eerie to him and he was ready to run after him until Boney held him in place. Lucas looked at him angrily and confused, but Boney's whines made him regain his trust in his smart dog again. When Boney let him go, he ran on.

Claus was still in distance, but now he was staring at weird and glossy objects with pig snouts on them. When Claus knocked on them a few times with his balled fist, they made weird noises neither of them heard an object make before. Claus kicked a machine into a wall when it beeped and wailed strangely and returned to his run for the drago. Lucas figured that Boney wanted him to keep quiet and distance, so that Claus wouldn't raise his voice and cause trouble being so far away from home. They just needed to find the right time to take him back.

The bald eagles in the trees were somewhat menacing to Claus, with the way they eyed him so coldly, as if they were spiting him and telling him to drop dead. They just gave him that feeling, and as much as he wanted to throw a rock at them, he wanted all of his energy for his main foe.

Boney was allowing Lucas to get closer and closer to Claus, but he waited far too late.

The drago was in view.

Lucas sprinted to Claus and desperately hugged his back with a tired whimper.

Claus quaked in his hold for a few moments and angrily turned around, recognizing those shoes he saw when he was looking down. He hissed, "What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" Lucas panted trying to pull the hot-head towards him.

Claus yanked his arm back and said, "To rightfully kill this thing! This terrible thing!"

"But it looks like it's already down!" Lucas pleaded and pointed to the drago that was lying down, seemingly motionlessly.

"Stupid thing is probably sleeping!"

"Oh, Claus, please!" Lucas pleaded and grabbed for him again. He was surprised that Claus shoved him away, hard enough to nearly make him fall over had Boney not bumped his head into his back side.

"Get off and get out of here!" Claus snarled and glowered at Lucas. "Go! You're too weak to be here! Don't hold me back!"

Lucas let all of his tears, fears, and frustrations flow down his face as he angrily turned and walked away. Boney barked and growled, to try and stop Lucas, and while he was aiming to bite Lucas's shorts, he wound up biting his tush when he heard the drago roar and rise.

Lucas cried out, not from the bite, not from the drago roars, but from his realization of what he was doing to Claus. But when he turned around and saw that same energy that was once on Claus's hand sparkle all over the drago, he felt everything stop. It looked like the drago wasn't phased, but energized by what Claus had done. Not even the roars of the drago was enough to make him run, and he saw that Claus didn't run either, but pull out that fancy knife Flint treasured.

"This whole situation is twisted," Lucas whispered to himself while his small blue eyes stared at Claus and the drago growl at each other. "Every single thing..."

He gripped a sturdy rock when he felt Boney tugging away at his pants. Eventually, his pants ripped, but he was going to stay here and witness this, no matter how twisted he thought it was; it felt like he was giving Claus the support he needed despite his disapproval. He watched as Claus blasted the drago with a different kind of energy that actually hurt it that time; the same drago Claus played with and called his 'rockin' pal'.

He was holding the urges to push Boney away with his foot, but holding onto the sturdy, but old rock was enough to help him stay here with Claus.

Claus pulled up the knife defensively when the drago aimed to claw him. The drago withdrew it's bloody hand when Claus tried to cut it off, and it slashed at him and the knife with the other hand. The knife snapped in two and horrified Claus. The upper part of it deeply gashed Claus's waist causing him to stumble, and the handle with a remaining broken edge lodged itself into his foot. He screamed at the pain of it all and the drago hollering in rage. All he could do was close his eyes and pray that Lucas had ran away.

When doom never happened, he opened his eyes to see apart of the drago's head explode as it fell over. The entire area roughly shook as he stared with wide eyes. After the drago failed to move or make noise for a few moments, Claus looked around and did not see Boney or Lucas. He wanted to feel relief, but he didn't want to be alone. He tried to get up until he felt the reminder of his foot being pierced and his waist twitching and gushing blood. Despite this, he pulled the knife out of his foot with great difficulty and rose from the ground with unstable balance.

"Lucas!" He desperately called out. As he limped his way around, he stopped to examine the drago. Under the burnt mess of it's skull, there was a chipped stone in it. When he felt his body throb along with his heart ache, he pulled away from the sight and shouted, "Lucas!" another time and let out a sob of fright, regret, and pain. He heard Boney howl up north and limped his way over there as he left a trail of blood.

Claus tried to move faster when he saw the lower half of Lucas behind a large stone not move. He felt his body get hot, then cold, and shiver uncontrollably; it was the most uncomfortable he felt in his life. He ignored the pain and hobbled his way over there quickly and fell to his knees when he made it to Lucas. His twin's eyes were closed and his body was limp and not moving. When he moved Boney out of the way, Lucas was bleeding from the head staining his beautiful blonde hair with blood.

Claus felt his mouth immediately grow dry as he leaned against the rock and pulled Lucas onto his body as much as he could. His body was still trembling roughly and he felt dizzy, even when he held Lucas. He screamed at the top of his lungs and buried his head into Lucas's hair.

"Oh, god! They're so bloody! Hurry! Hurry!"

When Claus felt a burly hand grip his shoulder and see the other one grab Lucas, he bit the one in sight.

"Claus! What the hell are you doing?" Lighter screamed and yanked Lucas away from him.

"No! Stop it! Stop!" Claus cried when he saw Lighter taking him away. Before he knew it, he was lifted up into someone's hold as he screamed in agony and blacked out.


	14. Chapter 14

"Claus…It's been a week since you've rested up, I think you can move now."

"I'll never be able to move…"

"You didn't break a thing, and you recovered your lost energy and blood. You can move, I'm sure."

"I…Can't…"

"Claus, open your eyes.

"Fuel—"

"Open your eyes, Claus. For him."

When Claus opened his eyes, the room was dimly lit. He didn't see his friend Fuel until he headed towards the window to pull the curtains to the side. The sun was now exposed to his paler than usual skin, and his eyes stung from the rays. They were already red and dried, so all he did was squint and shift out of the light.

"Claus, come on, you should go outside…" Fuel said as he gently tapped on the window.

Most things Claus thought was his friend kept hurting him as of late; even the sun. As of now, he was wondering about Fuel, the person that shone the thing on his face, and the third time this week. He had no words, only a glare as he clutched his pillow.

Fuel sighed and pulled a tiny stool close to the bed and sat down on it. He didn't mind Claus's tired glare, but he was determined to get him to go outside, even if it's been taking days to do so. He smiled softly and said, "You're almost up, now just get off of it."

"…What do you want?"

"For you to go outside."

Claus kicked his pillow off the bed in frustration and yelled, "I don't want to go out there!"

Fuel moved out of the way of the flying pillow and asked, "Why?"

"…Because he can't…." Claus spoke softly and slumped against the bed post.

"But, Claus, he did that so you could," Fuel replied as softly as his saddened friend answered him previously.

"Even if he did…I don't deserve it," Claus continued to speak lowly, the shame evident in his tone, volume, and posture.

"But Lucas wanted you to be able to do things with yourself."

"Lucas shouldn't have! He should've left me to die!" Claus screamed. After a few moments of staring at Fuel's surprised expression, he buried himself in his hands and sobbed, "What use am I? I'm not smart, I'm not talented… all I do is cause trouble and it shows! I got off with no loss and Lucas hasn't opened his eyes at all because I was such a numbskull and left anyway! I don't have anything to offer!"

It was disheartening to hear Claus say these things, especially wanting to die, but Fuel felt this wasn't the time to back down, and that no one else but him could get through. He kept his calm posture and voice and replied, "Do you think anyone we know was talented or really useful when they were our age? And anyway, that's not important, what is important is that you're alive, Claus. Lucas is alive too—"

"Lucas….Lucas is just a breathing dead person…" he muttered and fell over onto his side, not caring whether he had a pillow to lay down on or not.

Fuel saw that his friend was a mess, and that his hair was messier than usual, enough to cover most of his face with the way he was laying down. He knew he said the wrong thing to an extent, and wound up taking things back a step since he was planted into the bed again.

"Dead people don't breathe."

"Live people move, eat, and see."

"Well…Scamp is in bed a lot…"

"He talks."

"So? Lucas…Lucas is still here, okay? Just get up, Claus!" Fuel yelled when he lost his composure. He felt like he was being backed into a wall having no idea how to counter Claus's bitter words, and his behavior made matters worse for the both of them.

"No one else cares if I'm in here alone," Claus sighed and continued to lay the same way he had before.

"I care!"

"And I don't know why."

"Why are you being so contradictory? You're being a negative-nancy!"

"I'm not!"

"You just wondered why no one cared and then said you didn't care to my care!"

"I didn't say that." Fuel froze at Claus's response. He wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or if he really meant it in that deadpan tone of his. He couldn't think of anything to say but give him an angry questioning stare. Claus saw the expression through his messy red locks and repeated, "I didn't say that."

"Then…"

"I just don't know why you care about me."

Fuel was never good with answering trick questions, but he was normally able to tell a trick question apart from a normal one. This particular one was a powerful one, and he was hating himself for taking so long to answer, being so blank when he was sure that his hard-headed friend really needed an answer; a good one. Hearing Claus chuckle bitterly caused him to finally shout, "Because you and Lucas are the closest people to me as far back as I can remember! I can't imagine a day without either of you here! I was as scared as Lucas was!"

When Claus's laughter immediately ceased, silence hung heavily around the room.

Claus sat up and edged his legs off the bed and onto the ground. He was now facing Fuel even though his hair was gravely in the way, almost like a mane. Fuel wished that he could see Claus's eyes to see if he could read something out of him, but instead he had that vague smile that was on his friend's hair covered face. A smile that said almost nothing, but yet was still somewhat playful to him. Before he could speak, Claus spoke before him.

"So where is everyone anyway..?"

Fuel was confused by the sudden subject change, and as much as he wanted to pry for answers, he thought getting Claus out of the bed was more important.

"They're…watching some weird guy talk about happiness in a box."

"Happiness in a box?" Claus asked confused.

Fuel shrugged and replied, "Yeah, but dad told me he was too strange and he didn't want one."

"Eh, that's sound's like something Lighter would say," Claus said and stood up from the bed.

"Yeah, but, I bet the monkey he has is better than the so called 'happiness in a box'," Fuel chuckled. He was happy to see that his difficult friend has finally gotten up from the bed.

Claus didn't really care about his hair, he never did, he tossed on a pair of shorts, found his usual shirt, and looked for his shoes with the difficulty of his hair in the way.

"How about brushing it, Claus?" Fuel joked, trying to keep things as casual and distracting as possible.

Claus felt a pang in his chest when Fuel brought up brushing his hair. It was like for that split second, Lucas told him to pick up a brush. He chuckled softly, "Yeah…I'll do that." he too, was trying to keep things as casual as possible. When he moved in front of the small mirror that each room in the inn had, he saw Lucas. He almost dropped his brush until he closed his eyes and opened them again to see that it was just him; just that he now had the bags under his eyes and the pale skin.

He sighed and brushed his hair as best as he could before placing it aside and joining Fuel out of the door. He could hear the squeaks of the monkey and a jolly and burly voice along with it from a distance. He walked ahead and saw the monkey Fuel talked about, and he thought it was pretty awesome.

"Hey, it dances…" he chuckled and watched it dance, paying almost no mind to the man talking. When the monkey stopped his cheerful little dance and sat by the man's side once more, he finally paid attention.

"One last go, everyone! Happiness in a box! You cannot go wrong! Get the first batch today! Who knows when the next batch will arrive?" He was incredibly happy it seemed, his laughter was almost like grandpa Alec's with the way he held onto his large tummy as it shook from his movements. "Just raise your hand, and my little buddy will take your name and he'll file the order to you!"

Claus was the first to raise his hand, and he held it up high.


	15. Chapter 15

"You're right, dad. I don't think we needed one but...at least it seems to work on Claus really good these past few days." Lighter grunted and left the room for repairing duties since another strange, but smaller, fire hit not too long ago.

Fuel sighed, but it was not heavy or full of worry, it was only a little tired. When he thought he was through with Claus's behavior, he now had his father's. Even though his father's disgruntled behavior was understandable, he just wished his father would listen to him for once. 'Sometimes Claus has to be left alone,' he'd say, but his father would still stubbornly try to reach out to the boy. Though Claus seemed happier with that box as of late, he still wasn't outside as much as Fuel intended him to be.

"At least he goes out, it's a start," Fuel thought aloud. He stood around the middle of the inn wondering if he should go outside and help out in any way that he could or visit Claus, or even visit Claus briefly and then help. He was very curious about the happy box, but he was afraid that he would anger his father if he lingered around the box the older man found suspicious. Curiosity was far stronger than his fear and the force led him to Claus's door. His fingers brushed against the surface of the knob before he turned it with slight reluctance.

And there was Claus, laying on his bed eating cookies and staring at his happy box idly. When Fuel stepped in for a closer look, he saw that the bags under Claus's eyes were gone, but he still had the pale skin, however. He tried his best not to look into the happy box and called, "Hey!"

The now happy freckled boy was pleasantly surprised by Fuel's greeting. His mouth was full as he greeted, "Hey, Fuel." He swallowed his mouthful and then offered him a cookie from his cookie tin.

Fuel smiled and took a cookie. While he bit into the cookie, he couldn't help but finally eye the continent's of the happy box. What he saw was something he never imagined; it had all kinds of colors and shapes, hypnotizing colors, moving in weird shapes and everything. Before he knew it, he sat down, grabbed another cookie, and watched.

"Woah."

"It's...pretty awesome. I can't find a word for this thing," Claus said and pointed to the box. "See? Now it's making thick looking bubbles..."

"Yeah...I thought the wave motions were much cooler, though," Fuel said as he tilted his head when most of the images moved further to the side.

"Hmm...yeah. It does other stuff too, but this is what it's currently doing," Claus replied and put his empty cookie tin aside. "I don't know why, but, this thing...really makes me feel better. That guy wasn't fibbing."

"Hmm... Well, it doesn't effect me too much, maybe because I'm already pretty happy as of late."

"Really? How come, Fuel?"

"Well, I still have my life, there's still stuff to look forward to, I got used to staying at the inn, and you're close by to talk to. Not to mention you've cheered up too. A lot of things that make me happy," he explained in a cheerful tone to show his sincere feelings of his happiness.

"Oh. That's really great!"

"Hey, Claus, I'm going to go see if I can help out around town. You should too, you used to be a real big help, you worked almost harder than the adults did. As soon as you got that weird day long fever, though... you kinda drifted away a bit."

"That fever changed me..." Claus said in a random blurt. He bit his bottom lip as he silently cursed himself for even hinting at his weird powers he would rather forget that he had.

"Huh? How does a fever change somebody? I mean, I know that fever was like the shortest thing ever but, how?"

"Um..." Claus had to think about it. Fuel was quite the secret keeper, but he did want to forget about his weird powers. His friend was also as curious, stubborn, and unforgetful as he was, so he almost had no choice but to tell him, "It gave me weird powers."

"What?" Fuel asked and leaned over to his friend, closely examining him now. He didn't really notice anything different, anything that gave off 'powers'. He thought things like muscles was power, not his eyes with a faint glow to them he failed to notice.

Claus didn't need to excessively snap his fingers to get it started like he did before, all it took was a thought from his mind to his fingers and it appeared just like that. He out stretched his hand and Fuel gasped in amazement. He was almost as amazed as Lucas, if not more so.

"See? After doing this, I just point at something, and I zap it. I got another one...but it's kinda windy and explodes so...I rather not do that one in here."

"C-Could Lucas do it?" Fuel excitedly asked. As much as he wanted to see what the energy on his hand felt like, he was afraid of getting shocked or burnt, giving they weren't his powers.

"No...Lucas was surprised too," Claus answered rather slowly. Memories of Lucas really slowed and brung him down, even with his new happy box it managed to.

"Oh. Weird, I thought you guys shared everything..."

"No, Fuel, we don't... we have some differences..."

"Well, they're kinda minor, though!"

"I guess..." Claus said and geared his eyes and brain to the happy box at this point. He was feeling his heart ache, and he was feeling that fatigue of sadness and he didn't want it. The warm aura of the happy box would chase it away.

"Is that...what took out the drago, Claus..?" Fuel was reluctant to ask this question, but he really had to know; it was simply amazing to him. Claus may have been the shortest kid not counting the baby Alle, but this would surely make him the strongest.

"N-no...Lucas did. Lucas saved me..." after the words escaped his throat, he swallowed his almost uttered whimper of pain before it escaped with this words. "He...threw a stone into it's eye...and it's head blew up for some reason...But...how or why doesn't matter."

"O-oh..." Fuel was now regretting asking that question, and tried another question, "How about coming with me to help out, Claus? The weather's great too, and Angie's mom would surely have more cookies!"

"I'm...not ready. I'll just stay here..." the now solemn boy replied. He kept blinking back his tears to stop them from falling, waiting for Fuel to leave before he let those go.

"O-okay...I'll just...bring some back, okay?" he said and hurried out of the room and closed his door.

"...Great," Claus murmured and laid down on his side again. Strangely, whenever the lovely pink thing had it's slower movements, it made him feel light-headed; the warmth of the box only intensified it. The box was always warm, especially when he touched it's pink case; it was even warm when he first received it from the happy little monkey Salsa. It was warm when he slept at night, radiating a very soft and comforting peaceful glow along with that warmth. It even made a soothing low hum when everything was quiet enough for him to hear it. It was welcoming instead of the weeks left in the cold and in the dark with eerie silence, wishing Lucas was by him keeping him warm and breathing near him.

He smiled sleepily and lightly yawned, "I like this box..." As sleep came closer, he snuggled into his bed and murmured, "I guess...this is what happiness physically is. Somehow... it managed to get into a box after all..."


	16. Chapter 16

Early in the morning at the inn, Tessie wandered to the furthest and most quiet part of the inn as she always had at the start of every day. She entered the silent and simple room and saw that it was dim and that it also felt rather stuffy to her.

"Oh, poor Lucas! It's so stuffy in here... let me open the window and give you some air and sunshine," she cooed to the sleeping boy and widely opened the window above the bed he was sleeping on. Immediately, wind blew into the slightly hot room and it was really refreshing to Tessie. The sun lit up the room fully, and just enough of the sun rays was on Lucas's sleeping form. "I'll let you get some sun for a little bit, sweetie, since you can't go out in it..." she said as she stroked the side of his face with her hand. She was checking for sweat and dirt, but decided she would clean him up regardless.

Tessie brushed her fingers through his blonde hair she kept clean the whole time he was here before she left to get a cloth to wash his face off with.

A peculiar butterfly flew through the open window and landed itself onto Lucas's forehead. The butterfly was rather large and had exotic patterns on it. The wings were even as comparably thick to a moth's wings. Each gentle flap it did, shining dust that looked like it came from the most beautiful flowers fell onto Lucas's face. The very peculiar butterfly was rather glued to this boy's face until he sneezed. It landed onto top of a picture frame on the small table next to Lucas's bed.

Tessie came in to see the strange butterfly balancing itself on the picture frame. Despite how pretty she thought it was, she wanted to get it out of this room when she saw all the shiny dust falling around. She thought of it as pollen that would cause a mess with people's noses. She bit her bottom lip when she saw the butterfly land on Lucas's face again; the butterfly was big enough to cover a good part of his face. She inched slowly to the butterfly and was surprised to see it fly away and out the window, seemingly disappearing shortly after. This astounded her as she leaned out of the window and looked around; the butterfly was no where to be seen.

"Erm...ah..."

"L-Lucas?" Tessie called as she came back from leaning out of the window. She saw that the boy was stirring quite a bit in his sleep. She examined his face and noticed that even the weird pollen was gone from his features! And before she knew it, Lucas had opened his eyes. "Oh my goodness! Lucas? Are you awake?"

"H-huh..?" Lucas slurred in supreme drowsiness. He sat up as much as he could with the help of Tessie and rubbed his eyes to see if he could wake up more. When he opened them again, he still saw nothing but blurs of colors and the ability to tell the brightness of the room. "Who is in front of me?" he asked confused by this.

"It's me, Tessie, honey! Don't you recognize me?" Tessie giggled and checked his hair for that shiny pollen that wasn't there either.

Before Lucas could answer, the door swung open. He couldn't see who it was either and asked, "Woah, who is that?" He could kind of see the colors..but then they would blur into the other as before when he couldn't see Tessie. Everything was very foggy and blurry to him.

"Fuel, Lucas! Boy am I glad to see you!" he replied and hurried over to him. He even climbed up on his bed a bit to examine his confused friend.

"O-oh...hello, Fuel. Hi, Tessie. I'm sorry I uh..." he paused to rub his eyes one last time to make absolute sure that his eyesight was stuck like this. After he finished, and he had the exact same results, he informed, "I can't see."

There was silence between Tessie and Fuel for a few moments before Fuel frowned and quietly asked, "You can't see..?"

"No, it's why I didn't know who was talking to me or who came in," Lucas answered. Despite his eyes being incredibly odd, he was still calm because he felt it was better than total darkness. He could still see if a room was bright or not, and color and shapes if they were close enough. When they were too close to him, they came off a bit like a silhouette and his head would hurt, so he decided to just keep his eyes closed.

"...I'm so sorry, Lucas." Tessie cooed and brushed her hand through his hair.

"So it's just...total black?" Fuel asked with concern.

"No, I can see shapes a little bit, colors... and if a room is bright. I can tell it's bright in here, but everything is very, very blurry for me...and it makes my head hurt and feel dizzy so...I'll just keep them closed," Lucas said. Even though he woke up rather blinded, he felt like something was missing, and when he failed to remember himself, he asked, "What happened? How long have I been here..? I'm in the inn, right?"

"You don't remember chasing Claus..?" Fuel asked cautiously.

Lucas bit his lip and nodded. Just hearing his name reminded him of what happened. He felt his heart hurt that the furthest he could remember was blacking out after the drago slapped him with his tail. "I-is...Is Claus safe?"

"Yes, Claus is safe, Lucas," Tessie answered sweetly and reassuringly. "He's been staying one room away from yours. I should go and get him."

"Oh, he went outside not too long ago...I'm sure he'll be back." Fuel informed and got up from his recovering friend's bed. "I'm going to help out more outside."

"Help out..?" Lucas asked. He felt like he was missing out on more things than he expected.

"Yeah, another fire...but not as bad as the first fire... So I've been helping as much as I could and Claus just started helping too! I'll be back later, Lucas! Bye!" Fuel explained and ran out of the door.

"Tessie, how long has it been..?"

"About two weeks," she answered him.

"Did...did dad wake up?"

"No, he hasn't..."

"Oh...I got lucky, then..."

"Aw, Lucas...Don't say that. Just be happy that you're alive. Claus will be so relieved...and he'll be bouncing around again for sure. Poor thing stayed cooped up and so sad..."

Lucas swallowed a lump in his throat at the concept of Claus being cooped up in a building all day, and willingly. He felt so sad for him and wanted to be there for him and hug him, but his legs felt heavy and sore, even a little tingly. He sighed and laid back, opening his eyes again to stare up at the blurry ceiling. When he started to feel dizzy at the blurriness, he closed his eyes again and turned to his side while Tessie kept petting him.

.-.-.-.-.

When Claus had wandered into the inn, never would he have thought to see curious people wandering around it chatting away. Despite their curiosity making _him_ curious, he didn't bother to ask what the deal was and headed for his room. Once arriving his room, the knob appeared to be locked and this annoyed him. He growled lowly and peeked to the center of the inn and didn't see Jackie, Bessie, or Tessie which only met they were where Flint or Lucas was. He swallowed a lump in his throat just thinking of Lucas and Flint still sleeping their lives away.

"If you could call that living..." he muttered to himself and looked down at his shoes that were no longer blue. Ever since the drago plateau and getting his foot stabbed, he just didn't want to do blue shoes anymore and instead wore green shoes. He waited and waited near his door, and no one came by to unlock it, even though he never requested anyone to find any of the three who could unlock his room. He had no choice but to go into the room Lucas resided in and felt his heart stop when he saw that Lucas was sitting up.

His legs started to give out on him as he shakily clung to the door frame. As he slowly fell to his knees without a sound, his eyes stayed locked on Lucas staring at nothing and appearing saddened but relaxed. Seeing Lucas sitting up and examining his hands was so much better than seeing him bleeding and limped with his eyes closed. When Lucas sighed, he sighed, louder than he wanted to. He saw that Lucas looked around for the source of that loud sigh of his, and was confused to see that it seemed like Lucas did not notice him.

Still, his legs felt too weak to stand up and head over to his twin that saved his life and almost ended his own doing so. Claus breathed in and out for a few moments before attempting to get up from the ground. With the support of the door frame, he slowly made his way up from the ground and then made his way over to Lucas. Lucas still appeared oblivious to him, and even more so when he closed his eyes and laid back. Claus merely watched as his hand subconsciously cupped his cheek.

Lucas was a little alarmed by the touch, but shortly after responded by touching Claus's hand with his own. Claus bit his bottom lip and edged to remove his hand until Lucas grabbed his hand with another.

"Come closer to me, please," Lucas gently requested as his finger tips stroked against familiar knuckles.

Claus's breathers were shaky, but he listened to his twin's request and came closer. He tried to calm down his breathing, but he just couldn't, especially when Lucas started to comb through his hair with his fingers. One hand of Lucas was still on his hand that was now placed on the bed, while the other went through his hair. The soothing action caused him to lean in further on Lucas, heavily yearning a hug from him, and a hug he got from him. Both of Lucas's arms tiredly wrapped around his stiff body as he felt Lucas sigh into his hair. He was speechless, but it didn't matter to him because no words could express what he was feeling, or the sheer level of happiness just being like this.

"Glad you're alright, Claus," Lucas said and rested his head on his pillow-like hair.

"Lucas..!" he cried and nuzzled into him. "What took you so long to talk to me..?"

"I can't see."

"...What?" Claus asked in his broken voice that had been such for a long time now, even before this precious moment. He grabbed both sides of Lucas's face to stare into his eyes as he asked, "You can't see..this? Me..?"

"I can't, Claus. It's alright..."

"It's not alright!" Claus exclaimed and hugged Lucas. "This is all my fault...I should've stayed! And if I didn't...I should've just died!" he sobbed and loosened his grip on Lucas in guilt. He was beginning to feel like he didn't deserve to be here so close to him or holding him.

Lucas sighed and pulled him into his hold, it was now his turn during their relay of hugging. He stroked Claus's jerking shoulders as he waited for a moment to speak because of how loudly he was crying. He kept his hold on Claus as he lied down onto his back, and Claus lied down beside him still crying.

"Claus, just like you would do anything for me, I'd do anything for you, and that's all there is to it. I love you, and I always will."

"You're...You're not mad at me..?"

"No, Claus. I'm happy that you're alive, and I'm happy that I am too. Even if I can't see, I'll always know who you are. Your hands, your hair, your voice, and even the way you smell, I'll always know."

"I'll be your eyes..." Claus said. He began calm after being lovingly reassured by Lucas. There was no better way to be reassured than realizing that Lucas not only recognized him with lack of eye sight, he loved him no matter how stupid he was or got. He snuggled into Lucas like he used to do, and placed his ear on his chest to hear him breathe and hear his heart beat in between. There was so much more he wanted to say to Lucas, but had no idea on how to word it. He just stayed snug tight in his hold instead, showing he was going to stay put with him from now on.

Lucas understood him more than Claus realized. He smiled when his simple and emotionally expressive brother calmed himself into a slumber in his hold. His breathing was calm and his body was now relaxed instead of being tense.

"See? I really don't need eyesight to enjoy this." Lucas said to his exhausted twin. He was surely more tired and sore than he was. Saying he didn't need eyesight was also to himself, to chase away his remaining doubt and discomfort of losing his ability to see clearly. It didn't matter to him as much as Claus and his comfort and happiness did.

"I knew he'd find himself here! It's like he totally knew you woke up today, huh?" Fuel said as he walked into the room. He headed his way over to them and saw that Claus was sleeping like he had just went through the greatest day of his life, and that the sheer joy sapped out every ounce of him to sleep.

While Lucas was alone to his thoughts before Claus revisited him, he had time to think about how he was going to go about his eyesight problem and getting around in the future. He decided to go about his sense of hearing and he was able to hear that it was Fuel.

"And surely you did too, Fuel," he replied and smiled for Fuel as well.

Fuel grinned himself and patted the both of them on the head.


	17. Chapter 17

Yellow was all that was needed to be seen for him to feel alive.

"Lucas?"

And dew droplets sprinkling across his skin with every quick step, along with the smell of after-rain and petals revitalized every sense.

"Lucas?"

Hands were stretched out to feel the many thick fuzzy leaves that he always loved to feel since as far as he could remember.

"Lucas? Where'd you go?"

Things were a little more moist than what he was used to, but he was sure it was still the same. Though the smell was fresher and possibly newer, it could've been that he really had forgotten. At least, maybe a little bit.

"Lucas!"

Strong breeze and free spirit.

"Lucas...!"

Much warmth, and what felt like opened-space, signaled him to stop and wait with a smile of good-will.

"You shouldn't go off so far! You can't see and that's dangerous!"

"But right here is where the cliff is. Where the flowers end and where it's warmest," Lucas calmly replied. He figured Claus was worried sick, especially when he playfully ignored his calls, but he wanted to show Claus that the poor boy didn't have to feel obligated to be his 'eyes'.

"I-it is," Claus answered. He was rather astounded that Lucas seemed to know exactly where they were. He did bring Lucas to the sunflower fields out of request, but the moment they got there, he sprinted off without warning into the large blinds of sunflowers. He swallowed his nervousness down to scold, "What if you ran for too long, Lucas? Please don't do that anymore!" with fright evident in his voice. He was beginning to understand and learn how to properly worry and be responsible. He didn't like the idea of Lucas getting lost and hurt while being unable to see, and couldn't fathom why he wanted to wander alone so much.

While Claus was calming himself down, Lucas reached for his twin's hand, but he was off with his aim and grabbed his waist where he was ticklish instead.

"Eep!" Claus cried out and jumped away out of reflex. If Lucas could find the cliff view without issue, he wondered if he purposely pinched him there, especially when he laughed at his shriek. "Lucas!" he shouted from being flustered by the grab and his own shrieking. At this point, he simply wanted to bring Lucas back home to where they both belonged. It was weeks since either of them been there, and as soon as Lucas was able to walk again, he wanted to come here first.

"Sorry, my precision is still off." Lucas playfully responded as he brushed past his frantic twin to continue to tease. After he brushed past the twin that discovered responsibility, he reached around for a sunflower to grab. He couldn't tell if he was close enough or not, but he was suddenly handed a sunflower that felt very large by the width of its stem.

"Here..." Claus said and curled Lucas's fingers around the flower he had given him. "You'll get the hang of it soon, so of course it's off..." he encouraged and comforted as he kept his hand tightly around his hand. He looked into his eyes and saw that they looked as they always had, but they had a lack of focus. His stare wasn't very direct and looked a little airy, but it was understandable; he had nothing to actually stare at like he could. Something about Lucas was also now strange to him, a strange that wasn't there before. He couldn't help but admire how apparently well he was taking this condition; it was rather inspiring him to him, and it inspired him to want to do whatever he could for Lucas.

"Thanks, it feels like a good one!" Lucas said and smiled widely in appreciation. He did wish he could see what the flower really looked like, but he knew that it was likely the best one in reaching range.

Claus smiled in return and pulled Lucas along to go home to where they would be the new owners of it. He was rather excited to be in charge of a house because it felt like one of the first steps of becoming the adult he wanted to be. He felt pain that Hinawa wouldn't be here to see it after all of her teasing, but he had hope for Flint waking to see him being strong and independent.

As they walked, his grip on Lucas's hand remained firm. He felt extremely comfortable and secure with his hand in his hold; it was a big boost of energy to be walking with Lucas. He could tell that Lucas was happy with the way he walked, and how the shadow of the sunflower bobbed around with his peppy walking; it was a bonus to his esteem and sense of security. When Lucas first woke up, he thought Lucas was just being nice when he told him he wasn't mad or hated him, but now it was showing that he really meant it and it was a major relief to him.

"Claus, it's a really good day despite the rain from earlier," Lucas randomly said during their walk.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"It's almost fall. And I want to plant...I'm sure mom's garden has withered..."

"A-ah. I...forgot about it. I'm sorry, Lucas..." Claus genuinely apologized to Lucas. He honestly had forgotten about the garden in his depression. He just felt no will to do anything but move to eat and go to the bathroom. He was too afraid to die and felt like he would've put Lucas's bravery to waste despite him not actually living his rescued life at the time. Whatever Lucas had to ask of him, he was ready to deliver.

"So...maybe we should get some people together to plant a new one for the fall and winter," he suggested and thinly requested.

"Yeah, we should do that today. I'm sure Fuel would help."

"That sounds great, Claus."

"I'm going to take you home first... you don't mind waiting there for awhile, do you? You'll be okay, right?"

Lucas scratched his blonde head sheepishly. He surely wasn't used to Claus being this way, especially so nervous. He didn't mind staying at home by himself, and he was hoping that Claus wouldn't mind too much himself or worry himself sick. He replied, "I'll be okay."

Claus nodded and lead him home.

Inside their home, Lucas's sensitive nose picked up even the faintest traces of dust. He sneezed several times before Claus could lead him to a couch to sit on.

"I feel so bad for this..." Claus apologized to Lucas as he helped him sit down. "I should've went home and done more..."

"Claus, I understand! We'll get around to fixing up everything to how it used to be very soon!" Lucas urged Claus. He was getting slightly tired of him guilt tripping so strongly over what shouldn't have been a problem for long or at all. This wasn't the steps to recovery to him, and he was beginning to wonder what he could possibly do or prove to Claus that he is fine and that everything will be fine.

"Not everything..."

"Claus, please don't worry anymore! I'm fine!" Lucas urged once more. The volume in his voice had risen from frustration and worry for Claus and his behavior. He didn't want this to develop into his personality or turn into a habit, he just hoped that his feelings were not hurt.

"A-alright...I'll go now..." Claus replied quietly with his head low. Lucas may not have been able to see him, but he hid his sad expression anyway as he headed for the door.

"Claus..."

"No, I understand. I'll be back really soon! I'll carry Fuel back if I have to!" Claus spoke in a hurried sentence and ran out the door.

Lucas sighed heavily and took notice that the door didn't even close shut from his hurried pace. It was obvious he was crying or was going to when he was far away enough. As Lucas sat up on the couch more, he wondered if he should stay put or wander around the house a little more. After much thought, he decided not to in case Claus would freak out if he didn't see him the minute he walked through the door.

He was alone to just himself and his thoughts.

"Boney must have gone with him..." he thought to himself as he curled his hair in between his fingers. "He must've worried about his neurotic behavior too..." Lucas sighed and laid down on his back completely. He could feel the sun shining on him through the window, and it was relaxing. "Why are you like this, Claus? I'm okay...it's fine...things will continue to be fine and get better..." he yawned and curled up into slumber.

.-.-.-.-.

When Lucas felt a thin and soft hand cup his cheek, he woke up immediately but unalarmed.

"...A woman's hand...who is this?" he asked as he lied perfectly still to cement the feeling of the hand into his memory.

"Tessie. I decided to come and help you boys out! I don't think Fuel or Claus could help you alone!" she giggled and stroked Lucas's rosy cheek.

"We would've been fine!" Claus retorted and crossed his arms to confine his oncoming fit.

"Eh...more people the better," Fuel said and walked outside to the garden.

"Lucas, honey, do you know where all the supplies are?" Tessie cooed sweetly. She was very sympathetic for Lucas and wondered if the boy was secretly depressed and needed sweet talking or not.

"Uhh... I'll lead you to them," the perfectly fine adolescent replied and got up from the couch. When he took his first step, the same small hand had gripped his shoulder to stop him from leaving. Confused, he asked, "Huh? What are you stopping me for?"

"Oh, honey, I can get it..."

"H-he can show you. He can just fine..." Claus stated and pulled her hand off of Lucas's shoulder. "He'll find them, and he'll know which seed is what..."

Tessie looked into Claus's mixed expression. He was trying his best to harden it, but it looked like he was struggling to trust Lucas and his bold decisions. She felt bad for Claus as well because no one had dealt with a blind person before, and she could only imagine how much harder it was for Claus to learn to cope with it. When she couldn't bear to look at that expression for another second, she turned around to see that Lucas was gone.

"He's fine," Claus repeated and waited by the front door with his arms crossed and his eyesight to the ground.

Lucas dragged his hands across many shelves and surfaces, trying to find a cabinet with uniquely shaped handles on it. He admitted that if he had normal eyesight, he would've gotten the seed bags a long time ago, but he was determined to adjust to this and develop new senses. He finally found the cabinet and now had to open the seed bags and feel the shape and size of the seeds. He also used his sense of smell on what seed was what, because they normally retained their smell from being sacked the moment they were harvested.

Satisfied with his success regardless of how long it took, he returned with the right seeds. He heard Tessie's amazement, and it only made him feel more better about himself. He slowly tried to find his way to Claus while trying to not look clumsy because he was feeling very proud of himself. He had a feeling Claus was trying to gain trust on his learning abilities. He carefully, and slowly, tried to make his way to Claus.

"Yeah, Lucas, over this way," he spoke softly to give his trying twin a helpful hint. When Lucas made to him, he hugged him and chuckled, "You're getting the hang of this so fast!"

Despite Lucas's usual skepticism to when people praised him, those words from Claus made him extremely happy. He grinned widely, and hoped he tilted his head up towards Claus's face just right for him to see his appreciation.

Claus did and pulled for him to come outside, informing he already had the shovels and water ready.

Into the garden, Lucas had almost tripped on Boney, but his faithful brother had his back as always and how he promised. Lucas crouched down to the dirt and felt blades of grass that had grown in the dirt patches over time, and he could tell that Fuel had already cleared the withered plants for them. Now all that was left to do was to plant the seeds. He decided he was going to figure out measurements by counting and scooping a certain way.

"Watch out for me, Claus..." he asked as he took one big scoop and placed the dug up continents to the side. The second time was a half scoop, with the third being a quarter scoop. When he placed his fingers into the hole, he sighed, "Shoot."

"Too deep," Claus chuckled as he grabbed Lucas's hands to lead them to the dirt pile. He brushed his twin's fingers over the dirt and directed patiently, "Grip a handful with both..." When Lucas did as instructed, he led his hands back to the hole and said, "Here."

Lucas dropped the dirt into the hole and then pressed his fingers back into the raw earth. He smiled softly and said, "Thank you for never letting me down."

Claus was very embarrassed by Lucas's words and froze for a few moments. He was able to see Lucas making sure he had the right seeds in hand and the right number, but he was still embarrassed and rather nervous by his words, while Lucas was unaware but pleasantly happy. When he saw that Lucas planted and covered the first little plot of seeds, he guided his twin's hands to the handle of the watering can and said, "We should count how many seconds to pour.

"Yeah, that's good," Lucas agreed and test tilted the watering can a few times before he poured the water onto the plant, relying on Claus to lift the water up to a halt for him. As expected, he did. "I hope we'll always be this in sync," he laughed and led the happily silent Claus to the next patch.


	18. Chapter 18

Ever since the start of a tragic summer, it rained very often in Tazmilly. It was unusual for it to rain this much in the spring or summer, let alone in the fall. It was close to being winter time, and still, it rained often. Claus used to dislike the rain, but since the start of the biggest change in his young life, he strangely appreciated the rain. He thought of it as soothing and found himself staring and listening to it for hours. Even though he could feel some of the cold wind blow through the crack of the window, he wasn't uncomfortable or cold; his twin fell asleep on him while the two were keeping one another company.

Lucas was curled up under his twin's tan arm while he leaned on him comfortably. Claus was getting just a little chubbier as of late and was a good source for him to lay on. He didn't mind because they've never spent time like this together until recently. He found it cozy and peaceful, and it was during times like these when his heart didn't hurt much or at all. Claus shifted on the couch to get more comfortable without disturbing Lucas. He was lucky that his cautious sibling had his blanket with him because Claus would've endured the slightly chilling winds to stay like this. He was still recovering from the shock, loneliness, and pain of his previous condition that their father still hadn't woken up from, and as of now, he is still adjusting to him being here and blind.

Not only was he feeling guilt for Lucas's dimmed eyesight, he never wanted to feel the emptiness he felt when Lucas was gone ever again.

The rain started out gentle in the afternoon, but as the day ran on and into the evening, it gotten harder. Claus figured he might as well sleep while in this comfortable position before his stomach growled to make him uncomfortable. Despite Lucas's ability to cook, he couldn't see, so he couldn't feed the both of them wholesome meals, and with the heavier rain in effect, Tessie was not likely to visit them with a meal to give. Claus sighed as he gained another regret: he wished he paid more attention to his mother. He was lucky enough to know about plants and sewing with Lucas's condition, but he still felt rather incompetent in a lot of areas. He appreciated and found Lucas's reassuring praises to be sincere, but it still drove him to try as hard as he can to grow up to be a very reliable half to Lucas.

He felt he was bound to him, more than they had been before in the past. He couldn't explain what it was, but he felt both ready and unready to be at the same time.

"I just need to work hard," he thought aloud and pulled his snoring noise maker closer to him. It wasn't the soft buzz of the happy box he left at the inn, but he found the snoring much better and humorous. It always had been humorous because Lucas was always so proper and neat, but whenever he slept he was messy and loud. He himself was opposite of that; messy and loud awake, still and quiet when he slept. His yawn was small compared to Lucas's large ones, and he could feel sleepiness finally settling in.

When Lucas woke up hours later, he couldn't tell the time. He didn't hear the sounds of rain, and he could feel and smell that he was still in the hold of Claus; who was clearly sleeping by the way he was breathing. He wasn't one to brew frustration so quickly, but sleeping so long at a bad hour was enough to do it. He sighed heavily, and almost regret it in fear he would wake up Claus who was such a light sleeper. To his luck, he did not, but his twin did respond to his exhale and tightened his grip on his back.

This calmed him down a bit as he sighed softer a second time. He figured that he could either wait or find some way to make himself sleepy again. This give him time for his thoughts, more time than usual now blind. He used to have books and crafting, but that was rather hard with his damaged vision. It took awhile for him to notice Claus's kinder gestures and maturer behaviors because for awhile, he thought he was just displaying guilt and regret. Something he did when he got caught by their mother or father and he had to be the sweetest thing on the block to get back some precious things.

But it was way too consistent now to be just that.

It did make him worry, and he now wanted nothing more but to talk to him. To try and console any possible problems going on inside of him, but since he couldn't, he sighed softly another time and shifted his ear to the left side of his brother's chest. He was breathing just fine, and his heart was beating just fine. There was no signs of abnormality.

"Sleep is the only time you're shrouded from everything...even yourself." Lucas murmured as his eyelids grew heavier to a close. "That's definitely one big thing I've learned..."


	19. Chapter 19

One thing remained normal in Claus's life; waking early every morning. Keeping a mission close to heart was another, but never had he held a mission like this one so close to him; a mission of improving himself. He always had goals of being the best, and to him, this particular one was different and all the more special. He had no guidance but himself and whatever memory he had left of his resting father. No one could match Flint, and Lighter would never replace that no matter how hard he tried with the ambitious boy who was on his way to the inn.

Like his father, he felt he should always return the favor. They gave him and his twin meals and helped keep things clean, he would organize and do whatever they asked in return. With a determined exhale, he pushed through the door with a bit of weight in his heart. No one came by consistently at this hour but Claus. Bessie was examining strange objects she was getting as of late from the town's new mysterious visitor, Fassad. Claus knocked on the desk she was standing in front of for attention.

She took notice of him and answered, "Oh, don't worry about it, Claus! Fassad and his men took care of things today." The hard working youth frowned at this, and hoped she saw his expression. He was unable to use his voice as of late, as he lost the desire for talk and preferred action instead. He grew to believe it was the way life worked. She saw his expression and stated, "This just means you have more time to play!"

"No," Claus began, only to be cut off by Bessie and pushed towards the door.

"No 'but's! You haven't played in ages, it's not good for you! Go and take Lucas out with you too, you hear?" she ordered and shoved him out of the door.

He nearly fell face-front onto the snowy ground had he not took a hold of the railing near the door. His frown deepened as he thought about how fitting his face hitting the snow would've been. Many rejected him and called him a 'child' lately. This made his revelation and conclusions burn all the harsher; he was sure to find another way to achieve his goal.

"Accepting defeat," he said to himself and walked home.

Claus, who was always the early riser, walked through the steep snow on his way back to his bitter-sweet haven. He no longer gave his twin a hard time about waking up in the morning because he felt he was taking more away from Lucas than what he already lost; fate had done more than enough. Giving him a hard time in the morning would just stress him out more. Once reaching home, he sat down on the garden bench. He sighed a heavy one as he stared straight ahead and watched his warm breath disintegrate. He felt Lucas's pain, just to a lesser extent it seemed. He noticed at times he didn't feel emotion towards the tragedy unless Lucas displayed it first; and even then, he still came off like a brick wall Lucas could lean on for support.

"…I don't mind it at all," he mused aloud and rubbed his chin. "Strange." He knew in the past he would've gotten agitated that he done all the work, but now… he didn't mind working hard for his twin, and making sure he's happy and comfortable. "Thinking of Lucas," he mumbled as he got up and headed towards their bedroom window. He climbed up on some pieces of lumber he had cut and peeked through the window to see Lucas sleeping soundly and peacefully. "…He's hugging my pillow again," Claus chuckled and climbed back down from the window. "I don't have anything to do and he's still sleeping…" he signed and then stepped into a deep pile of snow that went up close to his thighs. He grinned and stepped out of the pile before it soaked him to the bone.

He scooped one little ball, then scooped up one after another. He smiled as he collected the snow balls and formed the last one into a weird oval shape with an equally weird shape for the head. He made sure that the two little ones he made were equal in size, and that a tall snow man had a medium sized one besides it. The two bigger snowmen were in the back, the oval one lied down, and the two little ones were in-between it. The creations were sized for a small table and stood in the middle of the front yard.

"…I can't leave such small things in the middle of the open like this," he thought as he got up and dusted the snow off of his knees. As he stood around for a few moments, an idea switched on as he exclaimed, "I got it..!" and rushed to the house. To avoid a mess, he made sure to kick the snow out of the bottom of his boots before stepping in. Inside, he went straight to the kitchen and grabbed a dinner plate to take it outside to the mini snowman family he made. "There, now you have a platter to be on…" he spoke tenderly as he placed each one on the improvised platter and picked them up.

Inside he headed to the bed Lucas was sleeping on and called, "Lucas…Lucas!" as he placed the plate holding the snowmen onto their table. He was quick with his movements because the house was warm and he didn't want the creations to melt. He shook the boy in the bed and said, "Lucas, get up, hurry!" To his great fortune, Lucas turned over and opened a tired eye. "Ah, get up and look at the table," he ordered and pointed.

The lazy one looked and rubbed his unfocused eyes that were still in the mode for sleep.

"Hmm..?"

Claus grabbed the plate and put it close to Lucas face and said, "Looook!"

Lucas tilted his head as he squinted his eyes to see. As time had gone by, his eyesight managed to strengthen itself. It wasn't as normal as it was before his accident, but it cleared up noticeably. He still needed things to be very close and for his eyes to settle to see what it was. Finally, his sight focused on what was before him. He smiled sadly and asked "…It's us, right?"

Claus nodded and replied, "Yeah, it just randomly came to me to make this for you."

"For me?"

Claus nodded again and headed towards the window to open it. "Yep," he answered and placed the plate outside of the window. "Now whenever you wake up you can look up and see snowmen version of us. Especially if I am outside doing errands. You wont have to feel sad waking up every morn—afternoon," he explained. He closed the window and sat down in a near by chair not knowing what else to do or say.

"…Thanks a lot, Claus. That really means a lot, especially how much you do for me…" Lucas said, unsure of what else to say himself; nothing he could think of expressed his gratitude.

Claus smiled and replied, "No problem!" and after a short while he sighed, "There isn't any work today. Its still morning so... you can go to sleep again if you want."

Lucas had picked up on the sad and lost tone of that sentence of his. He had noticed lately that Claus seemed bottled up. He also realized he never really talked to him about the things he intended to since way back in the fall season.

"Claus," Lucas began. Claus responded to him very alert and focused, something Lucas had not grown accustomed to yet. He continued, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh... Just, checking! You know it doesn't hurt to check, right?" he laughed nervously and tried to inch out of the bed. Claus may have changed in some ways, but he was still slow at detecting subtle detective work. He bit his bottom lip as his toes tapped around the floor to look for his slippers. His head ached when he relied on his slightly strengthened eyesight too much. His closed eyes opened when he felt his feet be risen from their movements as fuzzy slippers were gently placed on them. Something was indeed wrong, he felt.

"You're actually getting up now?" Claus asked. "That's strange of you, something must be on your mind," he said as he watched his normally lax twin freeze mid-step. "Mind telling me what's wrong? 'Just checking'."

Lucas evened his stance and stood still in silence for awhile. His heart was pounding, and his head was cranking. He wasn't sure on how to place this, or Claus's seemingly fast development. Perhaps he was underestimating him too much? One pale arm of his crept up to his other stiffened arm as he continued to fight with himself to speak.

"You're lonely."

Claus's eyelids lowered as his normally heavy lips curved up a bit. He leaned back into his chair as he watched Lucas make his way to his clothing.

Lucas's fingertips airily brushed around his clothing. He was confused and could not figure things out, and he wasn't sure if it should be bothering him this much. When he felt a round but pointed warmth rest on his shoulder, he clenched whatever his hand happened to be hovering over.

"I'm fine," echoed into his ear as warm air drifted against him.

His fingers continued to airily browse through his wardrobe.


	20. Chapter 20

Spring was always described as a fresh and new start. It wasn't fresh for Claus, and it didn't feel like a new start but a new twist. Claus was glad that Lucas was currently with Tessie elsewhere and not at the square. The way the villagers were behaving over someone's death, his father's death, was downright astounding. They were treating his death like it was some kind of new treasure that was dug up. Burying him and giving him a proper funeral wasn't the first thing on their mind, paying attention to Fassad and his play was.

He was using Flint as a new sales pitch.

Claus has grown to learn that sometimes one can't do anything about something, no matter how much it burned inside. This currently burned a lot, just like how the Drago burned him a lot on the in, and crossing its path burned both him, and another he cared about. He observed the 'jolly' Fassad loudly explain his 'news' and 'ideals' as if no one had died. Claus glared at him and clenched his fists, even though he knew no one paid him mind, and it would only get worse as Fassad and more of his men moved in.

They were all dressed like pigs. No one questioned why, but found it amusing and welcomed them in with opened arms. Claus didn't like how they made him feel simply by looking at them; he knew they had to have had something to do with the drago. But again, he knew there was not a thing he could do about it, and it made him seethe. Even with his 'powers', he was greatly outnumbered, and in the end, nothing good would come out of it.

But for some reason, he stayed for the show.

"This can become a medical discovery! We are the ones who gave you the joy of happy boxes and began construction of better homes. We will now move up a level in medicine!" Fassad paused when his crowd cheered and applauded him in trust and excitement. When it ceased, he continued, "You did not have the technology to cure the difficult vulnerability of a coma. It was a miracle that one survived it, but we have the technology that doesn't require luck or miracles!"

"So why didn't you go about it sooner?!" Claus shouted in frustration. All eyes were on him, and he wanted it all on him. He was only able to hold in his passionately rash nature in for so long, even if he tried to keep it within. He was _angry._ Everything began to feel like one big game, and they were all apart of it. He felt his finger tips tingling with a sensation he had banned himself from since his first violent incident and hoped to not use them again, but it felt incredibly tempting to do so now. The man whom he yelled at was giving him an interested glint in his shaded eyes, and it only enraged him further.

He bent his fingers, trying to keep it concealed and slowly curled them into fists; it only discharged when his fingers were pointed.

"These things take time, I'm afraid," was Fassad's somewhat flat answer.

"...You're lying..." was the brave boy's bitter reply.

"Claus, stop misbehaving and calm down!"

It didn't matter to him who told him to stop 'misbehaving'. He screamed, "Misbehaving?! You're all treating this like some kind of celebration! Like a deal! And I'm 'misbehaving'?!" It was getting much harder to keep his hands balled up. It was as hard as keeping his feelings fully in check because of the sheer idiocy that Tazmilly was deepening into.

"...What's happening? What's... wrong?"

He tensed sharply at the soft and concerned voice before his body slowly loosened up. He failed to respond properly besides his body cooling off and his energy deflating like a previously over powered generator. His eyelids fluttered to beat back the tears into his stinging eyes. He would rather spontaneously combust than cry in front of anyone, even the one he deeply cared for. There was no way to put this situation in words, and he did not want to lie to him either.

"...Let's just go home. Forget it..." Claus quietly answered and turned to leave. If he had to explain, he would at home.

Lucas was confused, especially how strong his twin's grip on his hand was. He also noticed that his arm was trembling somewhat, and that his hand was warmer than usual. At this moment, he was wishing he could see what was going on because just feeling the tension around Claus and the crowd was not enough to decipher was was going on.

It was like Fassad read the gentle boy's mind when he said,"You are the one who is partially blind. We can help you!"

Lucas unfocused eyes widened. He had never encountered 'the amazing Fassad' before, but only heard small town gossip about him; and so far, he was sounding pretty amazing to him.

"Y..you can?"

"Yes, it'll only take a day of your time," he answered kindly.

As much as Claus was aching to shout his decline, Lucas's hopeful excitement was immediately swaying and softening him and his opinion. Time felt short, and after he observed both Fassad and Lucas one last time, he lowered his head and mumbled, "If you feel okay with that..."

"I-I hope it works!" Lucas exclaimed excitedly and tugged on Claus to lead him to the man that said he would bring his eyesight back to him. Claus reluctantly lead him up to the man and just as reluctantly let his hand go. He did his best to push down his feeling of dread watching Lucas being led away by the people under pigmasks. He no longer wanted to stay in the area and instead wandered away to the grave sight.

At least one dead body was where it belonged.

As he observed the area get dimmer and even just a little bit colder, he wondered if it was the dead people buried here that made it as dull and dead as they were. He didn't see the grave keeper anywhere in sight and sighed. He looked up ahead where it was oddly sunny and thought, "Might as well..." Warmth returned to the growing loner once more when he made it to the abnormally pretty tombstone in front of him. He casually knelt down and said, "So remember when they said they would bury you two together first thing?"

He patted the stone and whispered, "They lied."

He got up from the grave and walked away to home where he wanted to be.


	21. Chapter 21

Claus had made a new friend named regret. Regret was always loyally by his side and was sure to embrace him every now and again. As he looked up at the stars, regret had accompanied him diligently and rested upon his shoulders. The sky was cloudy again, but the stars still tried their best to shine through. Their efforts showed and it was almost inspiring, but it didn't cure the lonely feelings he had. He wondered how long is 'a day' anyway? To the evening or to the next morning, noon, or _next_ evening?

"...Why didn't I ask?" He murmured to himself. "Why didn't I think about it?" He covered his face, in frustration. "Why didn't I _go_ with him?" Regret weighed in. The freckled boy sighed and sealed his lips with a frown stitched in place.

"Claus?" It was a deep and quiet voice, and for some reason the prescience of the person tickled his nose. He hesitated to respond, but his nose kept twitching and he wondered if the person was holding something detestable like peculiar cheese. Opening his eyes, he saw that it was someone he never recalled seeing before and that he wasn't holding a thing.

"Who're you...?" Rarely has he ever been curious about an unfamiliar face ever since Fassad and the pig soldiers came into town, but this man seemed normal.

He replied with a kind smile and answered, "I'm Duster, Wess's son. Usually I am out and about at a time you've gone to bed..."

"Oh," Claus replied. He kept idly checking for the source of that smell...but it seemed like it was coming from Duster himself as is. He walked over to the dog house, kneeling down at the opening to pet Boney on the head. As he set up a scene in order to distance himself from Duster, he asked, "so what brings you here?" He almost forgotten what it was like to talk to someone other than Lucas and Fuel, to talk to someone new and friendly.

"I made a promise to your father long ago that I'd try to be here for you two when he couldn't be..." He sheepishly answered the lonely boy. "But...it wasn't until now I realized how hard a task that would be..."

He was honest, and Claus did appreciate honesty at a time like this, but it also made him wary to allow another in his life again. He didn't want to be disappointed, and neither did he want to be a burden.

"It's alright..."

Duster lips slanted into a half-frown; a frown of uncertainty. He had a feeling this growing boy had been through a lot and was only going to go through more. Duster could hardly deal with _regular_ children, these two would be like going from level one to level seven from the get go. That made him rather nervous and made _himself_ feel like the burden.

"Alright, Claus. Just remember if you need anyone to talk to just look for me, at any hour, alright?" Claus nodded and it was a relief to the both of them. "Get some rest, Lucas will be back by noon," He informed and walked away.

Claus was disappointed that his twin wasn't coming back tonight, but he also couldn't help but notice the strange way the man walked. It was as if one of his legs couldn't bend entirely. He hoped to see Duster again, he arose a lot of questions and was a good distraction to his feelings that were quickly coming back.

 _"You should do as he says."_ That time, the voice was in his head.

Bewildered, he looked around for frogs, but there weren't any in sight, and initially he just heard Boney make dog noises. With nothing else adding up, he looked down and just had to ask... "Did you say something?"

The two of them stared at one another before Boney replied, _"You heard me?"_

"...Oh geeze, I can hear you, Boney."

_"How awkward."_

"Yeah..." He murmured and scratched his hair. He sighed, "Things are so different now, Boney."

_"Yes..."_

The tone of voice he got from Boney made it feel as if the brown chubby dog did not want to talk. He understood that, though, the two of them didn't get along much in the past.

"I take it that you don't want to talk to me, eh, Boney?"

 _"Not really...I'm tired. You should also go to bed..."_ the wise dog answered. He was surprised to see Claus comply so easily and quickly, but he was also glad there wasn't any fights. The boy closed the door to his home as if it was the most fragile piece of glass. It certainly displayed the current state of his spirit and his guard. Boney wasn't so used to being inside their home besides weather occasions, but... Claus really needed it. Luckily for the brown pooch, the door knob was never fixed and Claus didn't actually shut the door. He pressed his big nose against it and walked inside, then closed it securely with his back left leg. Where Claus wandered off to? It was up to his nose.

His scent was strong, so he wasn't too far away, he followed the fresh trace and saw that he was strangely laying on the rug in front of the unused fire place. Boney laid down by him and whined, _"I said 'bed', not the floor."_

"Rug."

 _"Same thing,"_ he held his tongue on the word 'brat'. He nudged the boy's leg and growled for him to get up.

"I don't really want to, chubby dog..." he mumbled and rolled from his stomach to his side.

 _"You've certainly gotten chubby yourself, you know,"_ he replied and walked over to his head.

He held the urge to tell Boney to shut up in order to get a favor from him. He asked, "can you be my pillow just this once, Boney?"

Boney snorted and also lied on his side.

 _"Go ahead,"_ he didn't really want it but...it did mean Claus owed him. He didn't get a verbal 'thanks' from the boy, but he did get an unusual cuddle from him. The new pillow breathed in deeply as well as exhaled deeply, to relax his tensed muscles and get used to the extra weight on his tummy. With his keen hearing, he could hear that the boy he was aiding had finally went to sleep. This gave Boney the sense of peace and accomplishment to go to sleep himself.


	22. Chapter 22

In the glossy room Lucas spent over twenty-four hours in, he was positioned in a comfortable chair with his face glued to a clunky black machine. He was told that through this machine, they were going to properly test his eyes before he could go home. His instructor was a middle-aged man a little on the eccentric side, but still very reliable. The recovering blonde boy had a huge grin that spread cheek to cheek as he scanned the very first letter that read, "the letter, 'E'!"

"Next?"

"A."

"Great! Keep going, the operation is turning into a success."

The letters were beginning to blur and shrink, but he could still tell the distinct shape of, "F..."

"Next step!"

He wasn't so sure on the next, it began to shift and blur more than the last. He continued to try and hesitantly answered, "...C?"

"Hmm no. that letter was G, Lucas," his doctor had informed him. The man was not disappointed with the results however, and praised Lucas. "Still, it's very well done! You are exceptional for being the first to ever receive this treatment, Lucas!"

Lucas beamed and looked for a mirror to stare at himself. When he found one, he saw his now focused blue eyes that were large and pooling with much emotion at the miracle. He could also see that he had much work to do with his hair, but the most important part was that he could definitely see clearly.

"Thank you so much!" He exclaimed as he turned around to see the doctor hand him a pair of small glasses. "What are these for?"

"If you feel that something is too small or far away, these will help you out. You don't need to wear them all the time, though," he informed and draped the thin chain around his neck. "This will keep them from getting lost and to always have them with you when you need them. Don't break them!" He explained entirely in an light-hearted manner. The boy's smile weren't his main source of his uplifted mood, so his cheers and cries of gratitude didn't matter to him. He hoped the young boy would run around and show off the power of the scientists.

Lucas may have not been able to read that doctor's mind, but as soon as he was let out of the space ship that had a donut symbol on it he was eager to go home. To his fortune he was very close to town because the colony of ships were parked just a little north of his destination. He was able to run again and hurried south. In town, he recalled that Fuel resided at the inn now and he would love to show everyone who took care of him his bright and cheery eyes. When he entered the inn it was strangely silent...

"Hello?" He asked with his still perky voice. The inn was so quiet he could hear the faintest creek of the floorboard. "Tessie? Bessie? Jackie?" He called while still in the main entrance of the inn. Receiving no reply, he wandered to the halls of doors where others would stay at. "Fuel? Are you here, Fuel?" He waited several moments but received no reply there either. "Well...this is a little disappointing..." He murmured and exited the inn. He gave one last look around the square that was still empty. It was depressing how the sun was shining down so brightly and no one was there to soak in its welcoming spring rays. It was never empty, and he wondered if it was something recent or if it had always been this way since he was blind and at home for so long.

When he sighed, fluffy hair that was covering his left eye lifted up and then flopped over to the side. He smiled when he thought about Claus who was surely waiting for his return! He saw a sparrow fly by, and smiled, but his smile turned into a gasp of surprise when he heard someone groan around the corner where the billboard was.

"My new shoes..."

When Lucas peeked, he saw a tall man in pink and blue looking down at his shoes that were splattered with white gunk. He continued to shyly watch the man until he lifted up his head and took notice of his face.

"Oh, Duster! It's been awhile since I saw you!"

"Likewise, Lucas," the kind and troubled man replied. "I'll see you around, though. I have an errand I need to finish." As he ran off he informed, "You should see Claus, he's worried about you!" .

Seeing an old face strangely made him feel better, but hearing that Claus was worried troubled him. What was there to worry about? And why was he so tensed about things as of late? He then felt a pang in his heart when he saw the billboard paper that noted Flint had died.

"Yesterday..." He recalled the cry of 'a new medical era' and Claus screaming...

" _Why didn't you go about this sooner?!"_

" _You're lying...!"_

" _Misbehaving? You're all treating this like some kind of celebration! Like a deal! And_ _ **I'm**_ _'misbehaving'?"_

His once happy mood began to wash right out of him the more he thought about how oblivious he had been without his eyesight. All the missed expressions of Claus, the emptiness of the square... He swallowed the lump in his throat and ran home as fast he could, no matter how much his heart hurt currently. Panting roughly and ironically with his eyes shut, he shouted, "Claus!" When he reached the top of the hill to home, smelling that familiar scent of their sheep that Alec had recently brought back to them.

"Lucas?" A pair of voices responded to him.

He opened his eyes to see that both Claus _and_ Fuel were sitting on the stoop. He smiled when he saw their expression and how they ran over to him so anxiously.

"Guys!" He exclaimed and tossed his paler than usual arms over them both. That prior anxiety and dread he felt in the empty town square was going away by the two pairs of arms wrapped around him. "It worked, you know! I can see again!" He informed and wriggled out of the hug to look at the two boys again.

Fuel exclaimed, "That's great, Lucas!" And kept his grin plastered in place. He looked at Claus's tanned hands pick up the glasses hanging off of his neck. "Glasses?"

"Yeah, glasses...?" Claus asked as he continued to inspect them. "Do you need these like Nichol?"

"Only when something is too far away or small!" He happily answered.

"...That's good," the protective twin replied with a warm smile; he truly was relieved.

"Guys...I have a lot of catching up to do."

"Catching up?" The other two boys inquired at the same time.

"Town square's emptiness...the new people migrating...new schedules..." He hesitantly listed and explained, growing more hesitant as Claus's expression fell. He was glad that his tongue did not roll out either 'dad' or 'Flint' this very moment.

Fuel was happy to chime in, "They're off negotiating about stuff in the forest areas."

"And Fuel's here because his dad's pretty pissed about it," Claus added while stretching out his cramping body from sulking on a stoop for so long.

"...Yeah, he doesn't like the new people," Fuel added while nervously rubbing the bumps out of his arm.

"I don't blame him."

Lucas looked between the two as they each took turns talking.

"Yeah but," Fuel started while looking at Claus, "I don't think they're all suspicious. Not the people in white clothing anyways..."

"They're just as suspicious," the redheaded boy snorted. "They're surrounded by all that weird metal I saw alter animals in the forest!" Most of all, the Mecha-Drago he absolutely refused to mention.

Lucas frowned. More animals covered up like the poor papa drago? He wondered if they were tragically aggressive as well, but he couldn't ask between Fuel and Claus's growing bickering.

"I don't think they're apart of that, you always see the pig people when you see those creepy animals," Fuel rebutted with an annoyed frown. Claus's and Lighter's aggravation towards people was wearing on his nerves.

Claus spat the bitter taste in his mouth to the side and retorted, "they're here along with those pig people at the same time! All of this raining in on us at once is totally suspicious! All the fires, suspiciously happening every other month and now they want to negotiate construction projects! The animals...!"

"I think that's the piggy guys. All of those things had pink pig nose markings, while the people that helped Lucas have donut signs for some reason!"

Claus was stuck the millisecond their friend mentioned that the people in white coats helped Lucas and had a different symbol.

"Well...I...give them that bit. Helping Lucas." He recollected himself and stated, "but I still find the timing and similarities suspicious!"

Just as Fuel groaned and rolled his eyes _ready_ to argue, Lucas got in between them and anxiously suggested, "how about we go explore?" The arguing boys looked bewildered and touchy before Lucas added, "please? It's been so long since the three of us done anything together! And I want to see the sun set and the stars appear! And so many other things, you guys!" His request was genuine, though sudden.

Fuel was swayed and asked, "where would you wanna go?"

Before Lucas could answer, Claus butted in, "Why would you want to see the mess that's happening, Lucas?"

The curious younger twin frowned. He understood Claus's concern and hesitation...But answered, "because I have to see what's happening to my home." His expression strengthened as he added, "to adjust."

Claus was taken back and somewhat offended at his brother's words.

" _Adjust?_ You can't be wanting to be on their sides, Lucas!"

"I'm not...it's just we're powerless against them, Claus."

Both of the more vocal boys frowned for different reasons. Fuel didn't like the negativity in the twins' conversation, and Claus didn't like the sound of submission. The feistier of the two spoke up, "we don't have to submit to them ever, Lucas! I'm sure people will wise up... They'll catch on! If not...we'll just rebel until we're old enough-"

"Old enough to what, Claus...?" Lucas murmured with sadness. He didn't want to be a harsh dream crasher, but looking so ahead of the future...lead to heart break.

"I don't know! But I just refuse to give in without any answers! Without knowledge of who they are, where they come from and just what exactly they're doing!" The tone of his voice gained more volume as he vented. "I was _terrified_ when I realized I let you go so easily! I was scared at what those strange suspicious people could do to you! We were lucky they fixed your eyes but...I— _we_ have to be more careful!"

It took a few moments for Lucas to absorb that emotional vent from Claus, fully aware these were the emotions his older brother kept inside since things started to change. His genuine care, his fears, his dreams, and now, his tears were finally shared. He exhaled softly as he wiped Claus's rosy cheeks with his thumbs, startling the boy who had no idea that he was crying. Lucas quietly stated, "I know, Claus, I understand. I will be careful, I promise you that..." When Claus wanted to reply, he was caught with the hiccups instead.

It was an awkward relief for Fuel who couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's squeaky hiccups he hadn't heard before. He didn't try to tease, though. He instead suggested, "we should get him something to drink inside first."

Lucas nodded and added, "I'll make some omelets too. We have eggs, right?" He felt his hiccuping twin tightly grasp his hand and nod his head against his shoulder. He was leaned on for comfort from the tears he knew his twin was embarrassed about. His tears rolled more vividly at the mention of omelets.

.-.-.-.

The smell of those omelets sat in his chest for a long time before traveling into his growling stomach. The scent was so familiar, and the taste was the same. He almost wanted to envy Lucas's abilities around the house, but he instead appreciated the tenderness he had radiated with such ease. The nostalgic homeliness that surrounded him had made him sleepy, and as he was struggling to get ready to go, Lucas pulled his green shoes away and stated, "go on and nap, it looks like you haven't slept at all."

"I did sleep," Claus semi-corrected. "...But on the rug with Boney," he added to fully correct and tell the truth.

"Sleep in a bed," Lucas chuckled and shooed him towards the stairs he used to run up and down all the time. "Get all the rest you need. Sleep in! There's always tomorrow!"

"...You sure?" He murmured his questions with pondering green eyes. He saw the certainty and sweetness in the blue eyes below him and saw it as his answer. "Okay... but don't go anywhere far without me, alright!"

"Of course." When he was sure Claus was finally in their room, he walked away from the stairs and back to Fuel who was idly sitting on the couch twiddling his thumbs. Lucas sat besides him and asked, "so how has things been for you?"

"Ahh I think things have been okay for me!" Fuel wasn't so aware that he was quite the optimist like Lucas had with admiration and Claus did with agitation. "I just want everyday to continue to be fun, to continue to build and learn and just...y'know, live," he answered and sheepishly shrugged as he looked at his new shoes he received from Tessie.

"I get that," Lucas said. "I'm...not sure yet, I'm still catching up as I said before. I want to live like you do, Fuel. It's the best and it was what it was like before..."

"But Claus..."

"He takes time, you know that." Lucas said and accented his statement with a smile.

"Yeah...he loosens up more whenever you're doing good," he replied.

"Mhmm... I need to do my best so that he doesn't lose himself. He's trying to change himself into something far too soon than just...living like you. Even though he's learning to calm down, he's still hasty...but that's in his nature."

"...Yeah."

"Thanks for watching him, though, Fuel. You always have our backs." Besides Claus, Lucas could speak his mind around Fuel as well. Words flowed easily with these two and he felt that Claus should have that sense of ease as well. He knew he trusted him a lot, but yet he was still so timid with his feelings until he'd have outbursts; but those didn't do his heart any good. "I learned from Claus to never give up. I used to give up easily all the time...but Claus, he kept going no matter what, he just kept going, and when he did...things got done. But being on the move all the time leads to exhaustion and poor health, so I need to figure out what I can do for him..."

"Take care of him."

"How?"

"What you did just now!" Fuel chuckled and nudged Lucas. "Give him something to eat, shoo him to rest, make sure he doesn't get sick with infections and stuff like that one time on his knee when you couldn't see it, and he'll be okay!" He got up from the couch and added, "role taking I guess!"

"Oh... I didn't think that would be enough."

"Naw! It is! You'll see in due time! You getting your eyes back was definitely a good sign!" He turned his back to Lucas and stated, "I'm going to go back and wait for my dad now. Maybe you two can drop by whenever he wakes up!"

"See you, Fuel," Lucas replied and watched his good friend leave. He rolled onto his back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling; recollecting everything between Fuel and Claus. Absorbing that he really was in fact, useful, needed, had something that can make a difference in their personal lives. But for some reason he couldn't smile.

Something still felt missing and unresolved.


	23. Chapter 23

Claus's nap was shaping up to be a full out slumber with how he slept until the sun dyed the sky a deep orange. Lucas was leaning on the living room's window seal yearning to go outside. He wanted to scout for the perfect hill just to watch the sun set, then lay on the cool night grass to stare at the stars; he just couldn't figure out how to do it. He didn't want to wake Claus who failed to take care of himself in his worry, and he himself said that he wouldn't stray _too_ far... but for the first time in ever, he felt excitement and impatience. He wriggled in anticipation as he murmured to himself, "I did say I wouldn't go too far..." and got up from the couch. Passing a near by table, he examined the unopened ink tin and thought that he could write Claus a note.

He clasped his hands together at the simple brilliance of the plan and looked for a piece of paper to write on. In the miniature tool drawer, he found a few slices of paper and plucked just one to neatly write on. He hadn't noticed it was a habit he picked up from his mother.

_Dear Claus,_

_I apologize in advance. I simply couldn't help myself and have wandered somewhere outside._

_If I'm not around the house, I've wandered out to find a hill to watch the sun set._

_Please don't worry about me! I'll be back and safe before it's too late!_

_Lucas._

"Now where to place this...?" He thought as he idly wandered around the main room. Claus would immediately rush out of the front door and he wouldn't check any tables... He gave the main room one last look before sighing and deeming the lower part of the house to be unideal. Refusing to give the idea of a stroll up, he wandered up the stairs and entered their room. Upon entry, he saw his twin tangled up in their cover with his feet hanging off the side of the bed. It was as if he just walked to the bed and fell over with a slight tumble and slept instantly. Lucas smiled and walked over to to his exhausted brother and cooed, "I don't think you can catch up with rest like this..." He then gently shifted Claus to properly lay on the bed. He unfortunately couldn't untangle him from the covers, but the weather wasn't cold so he was okay this way.

Inspection take two.

Their room didn't have very much now that he actually looked around it. The two of them were always outside and merely came in here to sleep at the end of the day or play if it rained. Lucas smiled softly at the memory of the silly hand games they would play for hours. They would even go as far as make up variations of rock paper scissors. Other times, they would play one of his newly learned games from the girls. Of course Claus never admitted he found those music oriented clapping games amusing since the girls done that, but whenever Claus put effort or emphasis in anything, it showed that he liked it and that he liked to rhyme with Lucas.

He glanced over at his twin once again and smiled softly. He hoped that the two of them could find time to play together again, explore together, and be simply be happy again. His smile fell as he continued to watch Claus's chest rise up and down. He questioned their happiness. He could say that they were happy because they had each other... but their parents were no longer here, Alec stayed at his mountain in grief and they were unable to visit him to their knowledge. It did not help that the people feared the path to the plateau. He then calculated the answer to his prior thought of playing and strolling together again; they had jobs to fill for their passed parents, as well as energy to curb for the following days.

Ironic how they became adults so fast after all.

Just as his fingers loosened up, the paper he forgot that he was holding slipped and floated to the dusty floor. He softly gasped and scurried to pick it up off the floor. Once retrieving it, he held it close to his chest shortly afterward. There was no where to place it here either, just like there was no where to place a lot of things he felt or wanted. He swallowed a whimper down and exited the room, slowly walking down the stairs now that his legs gained emotional weight to them. He stopped on the second to last step and hesitated before sitting down and staring at his note to Claus.

Digesting his prior anticipation and impatience, he return to his usual logical self.

"Claus is tired of waking up alone, isn't he...?" He paused before breathing out, "certainly..." and tried to put himself in his his twin's shoes. He thought about how restless he was after only a few hours of being by himself as Cluas slept, while Claus put up with weeks of his coma, and even longer with his blindness. He felt his eyes sting as he slowly brushed his sensitive finger tips across his eyebrow where his scar was. He heaved and clenched the stair rail trying his best not to sob or even silently weep. It was his tears that pushed Claus to his limits in the first place; to risk himself to go challenge the drago just to make _him_ happy, whether he asked him to or not. He wondered just how did he motivate Claus to do so much anyways?

He wanted to hit himself over his weakness, how he was already failing at putting himself in Claus's shoes; he already yearned for some form of company to support his distress. He guiltily stood up and wandered out of the door, seeing that the sun had already set and the sky was preparing for the stars to come out.

A tear slipped.

He heard their dog whine in concern. In reply, he wandered over to their furry relative and sat down next to him.

"Boney..." he murmured without any idea what would come out next. To his relief, there was none. He continued to pet Boney's fur that had gotten shaggy from not being brushed in so long. If he were in a cheerier mood, he would groom the both of them. He looked at his dog's big brown eyes and smiled sadly in reply. "I missed those big brown eyes," he stated quietly as he scratched behind his ears. "I missed a lot of things..." Boney whined once more and nuzzled into his owner's leg. "Boney...what can we do?" He sincerely asked while giving Boney his own pair of large eyes. The intelligent dog stared for a few moments in thought before going back into his dog house and pulling out a thick smooth stick.

Lucas was confused when Boney placed it in his lap. He asked, "What do you want to do?" Boney wasn't one for fetching. So what else would they do with this? He watched at Boney wandered over to the gate from home. "A walk?"

His dog barked and reply to signify that he was correct.

"Ah, but Boney... we can't leave Claus alone," Lucas stated as he fiddled with his thumbs. He was tempted for a walk again. The curiosity he once suppressed. "Ah, Boney, come back here for a moment. I have something..." When Boney obeyed, he picked up the paper also in his lap and explained, "Give this to Claus for me. I'll go on a brief walk to clear my head, okay?" The precocious canine was persistent when it came to that stick, so Lucas was sure to take it with him. As he walked away he continued to look back at Boney in his dog house who kept the paper firmly under his paws. He felt a bit of regret the further he walked away, and was finding it hard to look forward as he kept walking. But he certainly decided to be more careful after he tripped on a rock.

.-.-.-.-.

As Lucas wandered into town, he didn't notice anything different. People were all still inside by this hour if they weren't at the inn drinking. He continued to walk north and saw weird imprints on the ground, kinds he never saw before. They didn't look like wheels of anything he seen before and they traveled to Osohe as well as to the forest. His feet carried him west. He looked up at the church and would've loved to go in, but he heard a familiar cry in the distance.

"Gaooo... Gaaoooo."

Lucas hurried to the small and familiar cry, and it did belong to the baby drago he met on his birthday.

"Oh my, what are you doing here...?" He asked with worry and patted its belly. The pup had gotten larger than the last time he saw it. It was still round with small limbs and weird ears, however. It was frowning and let out a little whimper noise. "Are you lost...?" He asked. He wish he could understand it more like he could Boney. It didn't reply to him and just hopped away and further into the forest. The once restless boy now felt frightened. Claus had warned him there were weird creatures in the forest now, and it was getting darker by the hour. It also didn't help that the drago pup was here, either. Where was its mother...?

He cringed when he thought about how dangerous but absolutely tragic the father was.

"Gaaaoo!" It was if it was calling for him.

He also wondered if that baby drago would've hopped all over the village or something like that, and if it really did want him. With the way it was crying for him it seemed like it...but _he was so scared_. He realized that change wasn't so easily acceptable, that walking into the unknown wasn't so great and that being alone absolutely _sucked_. He kept thinking of Claus as he tightly squeezed the smooth piece of wood in his hand. The arm that held it trembled the more he heard the drago. His heart squeezed and he felt waves of heat travel down his neck the more he hesitated.

"Waaooo!" That cry sounded different and it caused the terrified boy to gasp. He swallowed as much of his fear as he could and ran through what trees that were still standing. He didn't see the drago pup anywhere, but he continued to hear its crying. He was wondering just what it was crying about and what was going on. He held his weapon up high as he looked around the unusually clear forest that was still recovering from burn markings, but it was now being scarred by those weird tracks that he saw before. To his luck, there weren't any weird animals around. The weird trembling probably scared them away; scared them like how he and the drago child was.

He swallowed another lump in his throat and willed himself to run. He nearly tripped when he heard explosions and cries of another animal? It sounded like a weird screech. So much noise was filling up the eroded forest. As he bravely ran to find the rather large and brightly colored pup, he saw it hopping up and down with its thankfully safe mother. He exhaled a shaky sigh of relief and ran over to them.

"I-its such a relief to see you two!" He breathed out and patted the mother drago's leg. She purred at him as well as snorted in reflex. Were the dragos migrating? He saw there was another pair wandering to a different part of the forest... As he tried to figure things out, he heard angry yells of what sounded like a man saying very naughty words. Lucas was scared, but also curious. He looked up at the dragos and then up ahead to the ruckus and weird smell. Something was burning...but it didn't smell like how the trees did. The baby drago kept up with Lucas rather easily, but the mother was still seemingly communicating with the other adult dragos.

What Lucas saw was one of those pig people that Claus and Fuel had mentioned, but he looked banged up as well as the contraption that he was in. Lucas frowned at the nasty things that he was shouting, they made him feel bad even though they weren't directed at him.

He then heard a brave girl yell, "We'll never surrender to ya chumps!"

Lucas continued to creep up and saw that she was accompanied by Wess and that monkey he saw with Fassad, but the monkey was hiding behind Wess and the girl. To Lucas's surprise and dismay, the baby Drago hopped into view and made a growling noise; it appeared that he recognized someone in this noisy group of people and he did not like them.

"Oh my pork! What is that baby drago doing here?"

Lucas felt an urge to protect the drago and ran to its side.

"And what are you doing here?" Something about the tone of his voice was no longer kind, and with these dangerous machines around and Wess on the side of that girl with weird hair...he was beginning to feel an ill air from Fassad.

"I should be asking that!" Lucas shouted back.

The group of pig people behind Fassad all squealed like pigs and patted their fat bellies in what seemed to be laughter.

"Haha! What's a kid doing demanding from us?" One of them stated amongst is grotesque grunting.

"Yeah, what a stupid kid!"

"Stupid kid!"

"Totally a dumb kid!"

It was weird how they all spoke after the other so quickly and in a redundant way, but it didn't falter Lucas. If these were the people hurting the forest and the animals... he would most definitely do something about it. He whistled a call and though nothing came immediately, there were slow quakes getting stronger by the step. He pulled the baby drago behind him as he glared at the odd pig-people, and also gestured for the girl and Wess to come over to his side.

"Pff, what was that whistle supposed to..." Fassad froze when he saw the mother drago in view right behind Lucas and the others he was chasing.

When the mother roared, Lucas smiled and walked over to her, and patted her leg once more. She felt the same way he did about these pigs. How terrified those soldiers were confirmed their wrongful acts. It was satisfying that they were able to receive their rightful punishment. Lucas had no words for them, he whistled again.

Fassad sneered to the best of his abilities trying to swindle his way out of this. He was confident in his charismatic abilities and said, "look, your fancy whistle tricks don't frighten me! We took down one of your stupid over-sized lizards before! We'll do it again and again!" As long as the group in front of him faltered, they had a chance of getting out of this and exterminating the opposing group of unsophisticated people.

The mother then hopped over the group she was once standing behind of, startling everyone who didn't know that even the adults hopped around, and pretty far. Those freaskish pig people were backing up into their tanks that once seemingly blocked the path for Wess and company; the irony that it was now sealing their fate. The mother swung her tail, knocking two soldiers hard and far into the trees. After her action, she threateningly walked over to the rest of them. Lucas covered his mouth when he saw the angry drago grab one of the men by the head and tossed him away. She and the child _definitely_ recognized these people, and he was sure to inform Claus and Fuel of this.

"No...stop...!" Fassad pleaded as he leaned against the tank. He had no time to climb into it, neither would it do any good because he was sure the angry Drago would crush it while he was loading up a cannon ball. "Stop!" He cried as she kicked the tank many yards into the distance.

"Haha! Feeling better now, lil' monkey?" The girl besides Lucas laughed as she smugly crossed her arms at the sight. Lucas looked at the monkey that was dancing in glee, it must've been the monkey he once heard Claus talk about. His attention geared to the angry Drago when she made a heartfelt roar. She then kicked the man that was cowering in fear at her powerful wrath. She hollered in vengeful satisfaction before finally settling down.

"That was...impressive, Lucas," Wess commented as he kept his attention on the drago. He was absolutely amazed.

Lucas blushed and sheepishly rubbed his head at the praise he felt he really didn't warrant, it was all the mother's doing.

"Yeah, kid! That was awesome!"

Lucas's blush deepened. So much praise at once... he wanted to ask her name, but his tongue was tied up from feeling so embarrassed.

"A-ah..." Was all he managed to utter out to his dismay.

"I'm Kumatora! I was recently just with Duster and Wess and I decided to save this lil' monkey from that creep who kept hurting him!"

Though the mama Drago hopping away with her cheering child made quite a bit of noise, he was able to hear Kumatora. It was a little difficult for Lucas to take in the information she gave him, if not confusing. Someone who, for some reason, helped him just tried to hurt so many others _and_ _**has**_ destroyed so much. Still, he was speechless as he looked over at Wess who was heading his way.

"I'm sure you wish to know what's going on?" He asked as he wiped some sweat from his balding head.

"D-definitely..."

"Well, it goes like this..." Before Wess could even begin he was already interrupted.

"Lucas!" It was none other than Claus who was missing a sock, but he at least had both of his shoes on. Along side him was their faithful dog who done as told as well as leaded the worry wart here in the first place. "I thought you said you weren't going to go far without me! Especially while I was sleeping!" He was fully aware of the _further_ wreckage of the forest, but that wasn't his priority.

"I'm sorry, Claus! One thing lead to another-"

"But still!" The stressed filled twin was getting into full-scale scold mode before he was interrupted by Wess.

"I understand your worry, Claus, but he saved our lives." It was a little weird to see the child he once knew as a prankster scold Lucas, but with how things were, it wasn't _too_ far off.

Claus's eyebrows were twitching in resistance to show his fears. He was mildly satisfied when Lucas stood by him and away from the stranger girl with messy hair that rivaled his.

"Whose that guy?" Kumatora asked with a slight smirk and walked over to him.

"He's my brother," Lucas sheepishly answered. That guilt for worrying him so badly sunk in, but it was also on the amusing side for him as well.

"Haha, you're spunky!" She teased as she directly looked into his glaring electrifying eyes. She was surprised and exclaimed, "Whoa! Y'have Psi in you!"

Claus vaguely recalled the word 'PSI' but he still refused to properly reply to her. Lucas did with a question, "PSI?"

"Yeah, it's magical power that very, very few people have! Like me!" She said and balanced a little ball of flame at the tip of her thumb. "See? If I wasn't so tired I could make it bigger! I was burning up tanks with this stuff!"

Lucas again, was very intrigued by this magical power and intently stared at the flame on her finger tip. He wished he could do something like that, if a little bit on the pointless side to want it so much. He excitedly replied, "my brother does that! But it's not fire!"

"It's not?" She turned over to the distrusting looking boy and asked, "What'cha got?"

He was still ever so stubborn and turned his head away from her. He didn't like the attention, and he didn't like the attention she seemingly brought along with her.

Wess was bemused at Claus's behaviors and commented, "why the moodiness?"

"I'm tired of strangers," he mumbled and crossed his arms, still defiantly looking away from them.

"But she's a friend of Wess and saved the monkey from Fassad!" Lucas rebutted.

"There's nothing to be on guard about with her, Claus. She is the princess of Osohe. The pig-enemy has also invaded and trashed the castle."

His twin and Wess caught the better half of his attention with their information. Fassad was as rotten as he expected, as well as those pig people, and he and his twin weren't the only ones having things important to them trashed.

"Well, great to know I guess," he said and grabbed for Lucas's hand to take him home. "We'll be going now."

"Hey, y'can't just leave like that!" Kumatora said with a questioning eyebrow raised. "There's stuff to iron out!"

"Iron it out with Wess," Claus replied. He was less hostile, but still not on absolute good terms with her.

"Hey, now, calm down you fiery snappers," Wess stated as he got in between the two explosive people with equally explosive magic. "We'll discuss things another day. It's extremely late and we should retreat to our homes!" He looked between the three of them and continued, "Princess, you most definitely need your rest, and the twins live a bit far away, so we'll take them home first."

"I can handle that by myself!" The offended boy protested. He done so much on his own for so long, he wondered where he got the idea that _now_ he suddenly needed an old man escort and a weird girl with weird hair that reminded him of those freaky man-woman fairies?

"...Claus..." Lucas gently murmured. He wasn't angry, but he didn't like Claus's attitude. He didn't like seeing him so harsh and edgy. It worried him, his brother was never like this. He was pleased to see his prickly stance falter and his posture relax at his plea.

"F-fine..." He muttered and pulled the happily complying Lucas ahead.

He had an irritable feeling that this girl was going to be stuck with them for a while...


	24. Chapter 24

_Vague whispers in his mind._

_So many were heard lately._

_Shield? Counter?_

"...Grave...?"

When Claus opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was his twin's powder blue eyes looking down at him. His expression was bashful and he was dressed in his outside clothes. Since Claus was just asked a question he didn't hear, he groggily asked,"what?"

"I'm sorry this is the first question of the morning... But I asked, 'can we go to the graves'?"

When he motioned to sit up, he winced and uttered a noise, surprised at how achy his body became over night.

"A-ack..." His head had hurt the most, and it throbbed when the sun filtered in on them both. He sunk back into his bed and mumbled, "You can go...but be careful out there..." He then promptly covered his head.

Lucas frowned when he noticed the visible pain Claus was in. It also confused him because he was fine last night. He carefully peeled off enough of the blanket to not expose him to the sun light and placed his hand on his forehead. When he felt the sheer heat, he stated, "you have a fever." Bewildered, he tilted his head and asked, "were you feeling alright yesterday? You didn't push yourself anymore, did you?"

With his initial reply, he nodded 'no' and turned over to his side to try and get more comfortable. He was trying not to mix up the invasive words circling his mind with the words he wanted to speak to Lucas.

"I had this twice before. It doesn't last long," he informed and curled up enough that his knees pressed against his chest. "I know you'll find this hard to believe, but its true!" The temporarily ill twin added in defense. He couldn't say 'I hear voices' or that he saw strange colors when he closed his eyes during these fevers; it would have prolonged the complications and disbelief.

Lucas really wasn't convinced as theorized and asked, "how long?"

With a groan he answered, "literally like an hour or two." Not that he ever kept track.

Lucas poked his face and mumbled, " _really?_ "

" _Honest_..." Claus grumbled and snuggled into his pillow that felt invitingly cold.

"...That doesn't make sense, but I'll take your word for it," Lucas replied and walked out of the room.

Claus sighed and grinded his forehead into the pillow that was getting as hot as he was to his displeasure. As he panted to cool off, he rolled the covers off of his head and back to try to make enduring this easier. He groaned, "why is this happening? Why does it even _have_ to happen?" It wasn't so bad that he wanted to vomit, but he was incredibly irritated none the less. He hoped that Lucas went to go get something to cool him off with.

In the lower part of the house, Lucas spotted Kumatora sleeping on the couch and snoring to confirm that she was. Though it was unlikely that he would wake her, he tip toed past her into the kitchen for a clean rag. He picked up one of the newer ones that were still soft and fluffy and turned the handle for a stream of cool water. When the rag was cool enough, he wrung out the excess water and folded the rag the way he was taught to do so.

It was like he had a sixth sense for another ill person in the premises when he entered the main room of the house again. He slowly walked over to the pink haired girl and saw that she was breathing heavily and her brows weren't relaxed. With his free right hand, he carefully placed it on her forehead and felt that she too was having an intense fever.

"Goodness!" He exclaimed but quickly shut his mouth afterward. To his relief, she didn't wake up but only groaned and shifted. He looked at the cold rag in his hand, then back to her; he couldn't leave her with a burning head like that. He placed it carefully right at the center of her head and hurried into the kitchen for another one. He still managed to keep quiet when going past Kumatora a second time and hurried to Claus who was face-front into a pillow. "Claus, you don't feel nauseous do you?" He asked with great concern and hurried to him.

"No," he muttered through the pillow. "Just really hot."

"Do you want me to place the towel across your back instead...?" He asked beginning to unfold the towel.

"Starting at the neck..." He requested. After his request, he hissed slightly when he felt the sudden cool towel on his neck and then shuddered when it was planted across his back. Once settled, he sighed, "Thanks," and felt more at ease. Lucas did not leave his side however. "Didn't you want to go to the graves?" He wearily asked without turning to face Lucas.

"I'm worried about you two..." He murmured his reply.

"...'Two'?"

"Kumatora has the same problem as you. It's strange!" He explained. "Maybe you caught something from her?"

"No it's not contagious..." Claus explained and turned enough to look back at Lucas. "She said she had the magic too. I guess we get fevers." He saw his brother's adorably puckered lip and added, "I-it's okay! Good things come from these fevers!"

"Good things...?"

"Yeah, the last one I had... was when I was able to you know...do the lightning one. Before that I had a windy one. Now? I have no idea. I'm waiting to cool off first...it'll come to me then."

"Okay..." Lucas replied. He didn't totally understand, but he took what information he got.

"Seriously, Lucas, I'm already feeling better!" Claus urged with a smile. He really was feeling better when he thought about it. His eyes brightened up when it looked as if he realized something. "Oh!" He subconsciously exclaimed.

"'Oh' what?" Lucas asked confused.

"Huh—oh uh... when I couldn't think straight with that headache, two words were at the tip of my tongue. But now with my headache gone and not being as hot as before... the words I was thinking of were 'shield' and 'counter'...But anyways, I feel better now!"

"Are you sure?" Lucas asked with a stern expression. Before his twin could protest, he placed his hand on his forehead and was amazed at how cool his forehead was. "Huh..."

"See! I told you!" He chuckled at Lucas's bemused expression. "Come on, let's go. We've waited too long."

"Well...I'm already ready, so I'll wait down stairs," he stated and left the room. He didn't see Kumatora on the couch and scratched his head. "Huh, where'd she go...?"

"Say, did ya make this bread?"

Lucas yelped in surprise when he heard her voice from behind him so suddenly. When he turned around, he saw Kumatora snacking on a roll of nutbread. It took him a moment to register, but she didn't mind with how good the roll tasted. She was taking large bites out of _the entire_ roll. He answered, "n-no..."

"Where'd you get it from? This stuff's delicious!"

From what Lucas could tell, she was over that quick fever too. This was too much for him to absorb! Right when he was going to try to answer her question, Claus came by and demanded, "Hey! Why are you eating our stuff?"

"'Cause I'm hungry, duh," Kumatora answered and stuck out her crumb covered tongue.

Lucas cringed, but Claus fumed and yelled, "At least ask first!"

"Sheesh, m'bad little dudes! I just grabbed the first thing I saw when my gut growled for somethin'," she explained and swallowed the last bite. "I need s'more, though. Since I'm about to hit the road to find that tall dude Duster!"

Lucas's attention was caught at the news of Duster and asked, "Duster went out of town?"

"Well, not like on a trip, but went missin'. While at Osohe we beat up these pig dudes, then we got this secret treasure they were after and fell into this cool trap that Wess had set up! While in this water pit thingy, we fought this killer giant pink snake thing and then washed down a stream. I don't remember the stream part because I passed out, but some kid named Fuel found us but didn't see Duster! Originally I was gonna go then, but then I saw that poor monkey gettin' banged up by that fat creep and rescued him. Then in the forest I met you and yeah. I _really_ need to go find Duster! I'm worried about him."

The twins were surprised she had said such a mouth full and still looked like she had air to spare for more. The two of them looked at one another before Lucas said, "Um... Well, Caroline wouldn't mind making you food for your travels... Claus and I are on the way there anyways, so I can show you where she is..."

"Awesome! Thanks for all the help, really appreciated!" She beamed and hurried to their door.

"H-hey! K-Kumatora! I can't lead if I'm behind you!" Lucas cried and ran after her.

"Heh heh, don't be so slow!" She then shrieked, "Yikes!" When Claus jabbed her side and sent a current of electricity up her spine.

"Don't be so fast, you mean," he stated while looking up into her glaring eyes. While her eyes threatened for a fight, his demanded that they go at his twin's pace or _then_ they'll fight.

Lucas hadn't a clue that Claus had shocked Kumatora and thought that he just spooked her with a sudden touch. He laughed nervously, "I don't have it in me to run for very long or far, but I won't walk very slow either!"

Claus still had his pointed finger pressed against Kumatora's waist. He was still looking up at her with mischievously raised eyebrows. The older girl sneered at him in reply but forcefully chuckled, "Sure, sure!" She saw the innocent one of the pair walk on ahead along with the dog he invited on their walk, and turned to Claus and snarled, "me and you, we're gonna fight the next act you pull."

He smirked and strolled on ahead of her.

.-.-.-.-.

Kumatora was disappointed to hear that it _took time_ for breads to bake and pestered the twins to show her where Wess was because she had a monkey to pick up. Lucas didn't mind, but Claus protested,

"Hey, we have stuff to do too, you know!"

"When you take me there, I'll be out of your stuffy red hair!"

Claus growled, "You better be!" And this time, _he_ took the lead and in a bit of a hurry.

Lucas was sheepish being in between them like this, but he did learn what Claus would be like if he met someone so absolutely similar to his personality. It was even a little on the eerie side that they both had magic as well, and on the funny side that she was a girl because Claus was so sour towards females as a whole. Though the fiery pair was ahead of him, he was still able to see Nan and her little girl Alle standing on the bridge. Lucas covered his mouth to suppress a chuckle because Alle liked Claus _a lot_ , and she grew more and more fond of him the older she got. His twin must've not noticed he was about to come into contact with her any second.

"Yaaaay it's Claus!"

Lucas couldn't help but crack up and neither could Kumatora.

Because Lucas, Nan, _and_ Kumatora were all laughing at him, the encounter flustered him greatly. He had no idea why he garnered this kind of attention so often, but the little six year old _wasn't_ Ritchie at least and she was nice. He was in a rush to get rid of _that other one_ , though. He wondered what to do...

"Claus! Claus it's been awhile since I saw you!" Such a bind! She was so giddy and was just _glowing_ with joy that Claus was so close.

Claus laughed nervously, "Y-yeah, I've been _very_ busy!"

She frowned and said in reply, "but not anyone else like Angie or Nichol!"

"Well...things are different now," Claus tried to explain without having to be too literal by mentioning certain things involving his and Lucas's situation. "In fact, I'm still pretty busy, Alle!"

"But can't you just stay for a few minutes, Claus? Please!" She geared up the Bambi eyes and squeaked, "Please, please, please?"

Claus was horrified because he _genuinely_ felt stuck in those large, round, uniquely colored eyes. Someone other than Lucas actually managed to make him feel bad. He didn't want to make her feel bad by telling her no, but he didn't want to be here in this awkward situation either!

Lucas chimed in, "Sure he can!" And dragged Kumatora across the bridge. In the distance, he could hear a joyous squeal.

.-.-.-.

It appeared that Caroline wasn't finished with her baking because she had other orders to fill. Lucas didn't mind, it just meant more time walking around with his new friend. Kumatora was easy going and didn't mind it either. She was certainly having fun playing around with the twins and looking around a highly populated area she wasn't used to.

"What were you guys going to do again?" She asked as she scratched her messy hair. Shortly afterward, the little monkey sat on top of her head.

"We were going to go visit out parents," Lucas answered. He was pleasantly surprised that he didn't feel that dread he felt earlier in the morning. He actually felt a little warm at the idea he was able to tell them today was a fun and bright day; feeling like the old days.

"Oh huh, really?"

"They're at the cemetery," Claus added in case she didn't notice. With Kumatora, he wasn't so sure because she was too literal from what he could see.

"Oh." She didn't realize that they were dead until Claus had mentioned that. She had no idea what it was like being around dead people or knowing anyone that was dead. She didn't consider the Osohe ghost as 'dead' but some of the most lively folk she interacted with. "You don't mind if I come along do ya?"

"No," the two of them answered. Claus _did_ mind, but he was sure that Lucas would let her come along and just went along with it. As the three walked the path of the clay-like ground of the cemetery, there was still odd markings and damage around the place. Luckily for the three, they didn't get to see how injured poor Nippolyte was. The sight to their parents was much shorter than Lucas had recalled it being, and now instead of one, there were two. Claus exhaled albeit heavily at the sight of the second grave; he hadn't visit him until now.

Lucas was the first to approach the pair of marble stones and sat with them. As he talked to them, Kumatora looked over at Claus who was silent and had an unreadable expression. She tilted her head and gave him a bit of a push with her left hand. She watched him try to catch his balance as he involuntarily 'skipped' on ahead to where Lucas was. He didn't look back and was slightly thankful for that push. He too, sat down with Lucas but remained silent.

.-.-.-.

The trio had several more detours before they went and picked up Kumatora's traveling supplies. The entire day Lucas had a big grin on his face. After awhile, Claus learned to smile again with Lucas. Even with Kumatora just about ready to go, Lucas felt the most uplifted he had felt in a long while.

"Alright," the perky girl began as she slung a bag over her shoulder. "Thanks for the help once again! I'm gonna head out!"

"Kumatora, come back to visit us as soon as you find Duster again!" Lucas requested. "Today was fun and it was great to get to know you!"

"You too!" She chuckled and then turned to Claus. "You, you better get stronger!"

"I will!" Claus immediately replied in a challenging manner.

"And remember, don't tucker yourself out! If you really want to _shield_ him, you can't _counter_ if you're too tired and weakened, right?" She smirked at his surprised eyes. She was sure he knew that she had an idea what his fever was about. He was still learning about his PSI and sharpening his new senses. "Also get taller so I can punch you in your jaw next time!" She cackled at his angry expression and ran off.


	25. Chapter 25

"Claus, did dad ever teach you how to shear the sheep?"

"No."

"Did you ever watch him shear the sheep?"

"No..."

"...Do we want to go for trial and error?"

"...I think not..."

The sheep were the fluffiest the two had ever seen them. Their mass of fluff was so vast that they bumped into one another and their fencing quite frequently; all the while bleating their apologies and frustrations. The twins felt terribly guilty that their sheep were suffering from having excessive fleece they were unused to. Their father normally had them fixed by spring, but now it was summer and it only meant worse for their poor docile animals.

Lucas rubbed his chin as he thought for a solution. His brain never failed him when it came to problem solving, and his first idea was to look for a book.

"There's a book somewhere if I recall right..." Lucas stated and headed over to the tool-shed. It may have been years ago when he recalled seeing the book there, but he was sure it hasn't moved. He grinned when he remembered just right and removed it from the bottom shelf it rested at. He sneezed from the dustiness and it was only dustier when he opened the book up.

"Careful not to choke on that, Lucas!" Claus reminded his twin of his allergies. He could see that his little nose was already glowing red in irritation. "Do you want me to take a look at it?"

Lucas sheepishly laughed, "I got it," and wiped the dust away from the index page. He tried to see what page he had to go to, but the words looked strange. He blinked a few times when he felt his eyes strain like they used to, but it only seemed to make things worse. He turned another page; same results.

He turned another page, his lips twitched along with the action.

"Lucas?" Claus was sensing oncoming distress.

Before Claus could come near him, he exclaimed nervously, "ahh~ hold on a moment! I've forgotten something inside!" And hurried inside with the book still in hand.

It just didn't make sense.

He picked up his glasses and put them on crookedly in his haste. The letters didn't align correctly at all. He murmured, "I thought it was only far away. What is this." What went from great was slowly reverting back to what he was _weeks_ ago. He continued to stare with utmost concentration, his eye brows furrowed with determination to read this page. He was so focused he didn't notice the redhead behind him.

"...Lucas can you see the words?" He was straight to the point.

Lucas bit his bottom lip as he continued to try and properly scan the words together, but they just continued to blur. He was going to make himself dizzy trying so hard had Claus not grip his shoulder for a response. He answered quietly, "No I can't..." He couldn't speak any further and grabbed for his aching heart. The level of disappointment he felt was new and unwelcoming. Unbeknownst to Lucas, Claus was feeling the same as him. Regret was looming over the older brother again; his twin's handicap was a constant reminder of his recklessness. It was a painful lesson he wished that Lucas didn't have to suffer with him.

At a loss, he uttered, "I'm sorry," and winced as soon as it escaped his throat. _Sorry?_ He felt the word was for _little_ things, and asking for forgiveness? That was _too much_ to ask for, more than he felt he deserved. There was no way for him to word his feelings or his regret for his actions and the guilt of the consequences.

"Claus, you don't have to apologize," Lucas explained to him. He wished that Claus would realize that his life was more important to him than his own eyesight. He was willing to put up with the disappointment and the handicap if Claus was ready to endure things with him. He'd return the favor always, the two of them were as equal as they could be with each other. He wasn't in the mood to talk very much, and added, "I can...still see the bigger pictures of things..." He wasn't very superstitious, but he wondered if he was just denying the inevitable... "Claus, do you think someone in town would know what to do?" He asked to deter the continuation of the subject at hand.

The redheaded twin rubbed his head in thought for a moment. Flint never really asked anyone for _anything._ For all they knew, especially knowing their luck currently, no one would know what to do with the sheep besides their passed parents and their secluded grandfather. To not be a total downer, he answered, "Hopefully..."

"Let's try..." Lucas quietly suggested. "It'll be a nice break to walk together too." When he turned around, his twin's back was facing him. Lucas's frown deepened when he could see that Claus's head was lowered and that his arms were trembling. He sighed softly before calmly approaching him. In attempt to comfort him. He gently grasped his right hand and smoothed his other hand over his arm covered in goosebumps. He heard him choke on noise, as if he locked words in his throat in fearful restraint. "Please don't be upset, Claus. I thought we got over this?"

"How can't I be?" His voice was hoarse. "You shouldn't have to suffer this way!"

"And neither should you," he retorted and gripped his short sleeve. "Just like you're willing to spend anything for me, I am too. You wouldn't leave me to die, and you wouldn't want me to be in pain. I want the same for you, can't you understand that?" He stated and tugged at his sleeve. "I'm not _that_ frail, you know." Claus let out a snerk at that remark. "You're not doubting me are you?" When he poked at his freckled cheek, only more little chuckles came out of him. "Heeyyy..."

Claus swatted his hand away in jest and defensively put his hands up.

"Okay, okay... I'm understanding." He rubbed his poofy hair as he added, "We'll go try and find somebody...but..."

"Who would know?" Lucas filled in the blank for Claus. "If only grandpa were here...or if he kept them with him."

Claus frowned at Lucas's melancholic words about their grandfather. He did have a point, though; he missed him as much as he did. He didn't agree about the sheep, however. He patted Lucas's shoulder again and said, "No, no...we can figure this out."

"Tessie?"

"Nah...I don't think she'd know, or anyone at the inn for that matter..."

"Um..." Lucas thought aloud while he rubbed his chin yet again. "Biff?"

"...Maybe, but he's so absent minded and his family only has pigs and chickens."

"...Yeah..."

"No help as always," Claus mumbled and scratched his own head in apathy. "Lemme see that book, Lucas," Claus requested. He tried his best to suppress the feelings he felt when he requested for that book.

"...Can we go on that walk first?" The blonde boy counter-requested. The two of them faltered when their eyes linked for only a moment. Lucas looked down at the ground, and so did Claus who was rubbing the goose bumps out of his arms himself this time.

"Uh yeah, sure, let's do that..." He complied and opened their fixed door. He created a distance between them, feeling too uncomfortably nervous to walk hand and hand with him. He kept his eyes locked ahead to refrain from looking back, but his ears were focused to hear if his twin was keeping up with him. He was, but he was lagging behind. Still, the redheaded twin didn't look back, he was too fixated by the way he was feeling, and how he was unable to think about _anything_ but the way the pesky muscle in his chest was beating irregularly.

Lucas pouted angrily at the back of his twin who was walking so far ahead of him. How far he was and how he was behaving was destroying the whole purpose of their walk together. He was also getting tired of the over-bearing protectiveness. It was odd to the younger twin that _Claus_ was being this way, when _he_ was Mr. Reckless running off to fight a mechanical dragon with a butcher knife all by himself. When _he_ was the one getting poisoned or bruised up and always in a bind. Just when did _he_ get the right to keep him snug tight 'safely'? He snorted and crossed his arms as he continued to watch him drift further and further away; did he not notice he stopped following him?

He had but didn't turn around.

Lucas waited but he _still_ did not turn around. He felt a sting that was like an insulting pinch, but not strong enough to feel like an emotional slap. He was growing frustrated, unsure of how else he could possibly reach Claus. He still didn't have it in him to yell, it just wasn't in his nature. He didn't want to blame it on himself being unable to express himself, because lately, Claus had been just as bad if not worse. Silently watching his back for a few more moments, he also turned around, preferring to stare at the open space than his twin's back. Claus was hoping that Lucas wouldn't leave. He turned around and saw that he was quite a bit of distance from him. Even with his twin's back facing him, he could tell he was displeased. He swallowed a lump in his throat and took a step forward, and just as he did Lucas ran away.

He reached his hand out as if that would stop Lucas, but he kept on running away from him until he turned for the hill to home. His once stiffened shoulders dropped like a heavy sack of bricks. Even now he couldn't budge his limbs; it was as if his body was trying to tell him something was wrong inside. He sighed and sat in the middle of the pasture. The wind whistled through his ears as if it was trying to tell him something, but he was far too troubled to hear it and he was tired of hearing voices in his head anyways. It stressed him out, and his straining relationship with his twin was also stressing him much more. He didn't know who he could go to for help, or what he was doing wrong, because lately, Lucas was avoiding him and it made his heart hurt.

"I guess he has reasons even if he says otherwise..." he mumbled. "But...I want..." He paused. His mind drew an absolute blank before he questioned, "What..what do I want?" He kept thinking about it, but he still couldn't find exactly _what_ he wanted from Lucas, or if he wanted to do something. Maybe he _wasn't_ as understanding as he thought because he certainly wasn't making sense to himself right now. He willed himself to stand up, but he wasn't sure where he should go. Should he go to town and take a lonesome break, or should he go back to try and talk to Lucas? He trembled at the thought of being alone again. It was the worst he ever felt, but he wasn't sure how to face Lucas in a bad mood because that felt _just_ as badly.

He kept looking back and forth as if he was searching for a physical object, but he was truly searching for an answer within himself. He twisted his body south to where home was, and carried his legs back to home, even if slowly and steadily. As he walked, his nervousness didn't falter as he hoped it would. He was so nervous that a sudden bleat from a sheep made him twitch in surprise. He shook his head and took in a few breathers before stepping back inside the house.

"Lucas...?" He calmly called out. He received no response and wandered around the main part of the house to not see his twin anywhere in sight. He then headed up the stairs and repeated, "Lucas?" He had a feeling he was going to be given the silent treatment. Still, he braved this encounter as he slowly opened their room door. There was Lucas in the bed laying on his stomach and with his face in his pillow. He hoped he wasn't crying. He hesitantly reached to touch him, his hand trembling the closer it gotten to him. A sudden jerk of Lucas's shoulder connected to his hand, and he gripped in an odd reflex.

Lucas didn't move much, he tried to shift away as he sniffled. He _was_ crying.

Claus's breath hitched at the realization. His throat felt sore, his eyes burned, and his arms were bumpy yet again. At the rate his physical stress he was going through, it wouldn't be a stretch for nerve induced hives to take over him. He pulled his hand away briefly, but then slowly placed it back down, but in his soft blonde hair. He leaned in and lied his upper body on Lucas's that winced but then settled down. When Claus closed his eyes, the tears that pooled in his eyes ran down his cheeks. As he gripped his twin's shoulder, he wondered what to do. He didn't want to say _sorry_ again, but he did want to say something.

"I keep doing the wrong thing, I can't make anything better... and we're both so miserable..." He sobbed lightly and mushed his face into his twin's neck. "I'm trying to be reliable, but it just back fires..." He sniffled and whined, "Can you help me...?" He asked so helplessly. "I'm lost, Lucas... I'm confused, Lucas... _I'm scared_ , Lucas."

"...Can you just...be yourself now?" He quietly suggested. He would get up if Claus didn't lay most of his weight on him. "I don't know how to explain it, just... listen to your gut like you usually do..." He heard his twin get the hiccups yet again and wriggled away from his constricting grip. He looked down at him with his drying eyes and saw how he was weeping from his eyes and his nose. He hugged him anyways.

"I can't sleep when I think too much..."

"I've noticed."

"I'm tired..."

"I know."

"I'm bothered..."

"Me too." Claus kept an unbreakable constriction around Lucas's back as he rested his chin on his shoulder and kept crying. "Doesn't this feel better? To cry when you're really bothered?" His twin nodded. "But...I guess not all the time. But when it really counts..." When he did in his pillow, he didn't feel as angry anymore. When Claus cried, he felt more at ease. "We need to work together. Please stop...treating me as a frail person."

"I-I just want to be dependable..."

"I get it but it's frustrating. I can do stuff, you can do stuff, _we_ can do stuff. You can't work yourself into the ground, and I can't sit back all the time..." He rubbed his back and added, "Speaking of stuff...we have the sheep to take care of. Are you up for it?" Claus nodded again and let Lucas go. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure..." He answered while rubbing his eyes. Now _his_ eyes were strained and blurry.

Lucas smoothed out his slightly wet shirt and headed down stairs for the book. It was still opened and his eyebrows raised in surprise that he could actually...see the index page. He picked up the book and scanned over it; he could see the contents! His heart skipped as he looked at the tables of contents more seriously.

 

Introduction

Grooming

Cleaning before or after

Shearing

 

"Lucas?" His twin called for him and pinched the top of the book. He wanted to have it in his hands.

"I can...somehow see the letters again," Lucas informed. "I don't know what to think of this..."

"A good thing," he stated.

Lucas nodded and said, "Let's go outside to the sheep again." In agreement they both headed out there. Lucas turned through the pages reading in detail about things he knew absolutely nothing about.

As Claus gave his twin the space to revel in the fact he could read, he patted the sheep from the top to the under belly. He raised a curious eye brow when he noticed it was actually "Peeling...?"

"Huh? What did you say?"

"...Its fluff is peeling right off..." He murmured his reply in amazement. He keep peeling away; it was seriously coming off _without_ the use of sharp tools.

Lucas blinked bewildered by this and placed the book down. He examined the sheep Claus was literally peeling and then soon after went for a different sheep. He gripped to see that he too was peeling the animal like a thick banana peel.

"What."

Claus only laughed and appreciated the bizarre simplicity the task turned into. It was nice that they could aid their sheep without the possibility of harming the animals they cared so much about.


	26. Chapter 26

As Lucas laid in bed awake, Claus was close beside him. In his sleep, his arm lied across Lucas's chest as he lightly griped his shoulder at the end. Without moving, Lucas directed his eyes over to his twin who was so soundly asleep; there was no denying the change in their habits. When he thought about it, he was the first one to wake up every time now days. Sometimes his twin would wake up a little while after, but most of the time he would wake _hours_ later if Lucas didn't wake him for breakfast. For fifteen minutes he lied here in thought as well as in patience; it was looking to be another one of those days that Claus would sleep in. He wriggled from his twin's sleepy hold and sat at the edge of their bed.

He stared across and above and saw through the window that he was up at the farmer's hour; just enough light for a pale blue sky, but also for the stars to still be visible. He sighed, "about six hours," and yawned heavily. He looked behind him to see his twin grip the pillow where he once was as if he was looking for him. Lucas let out a raspy chuckle and pushed the pillow into Claus who hugged it in response. He watched how he relaxed yet again and sighed. Times like these he felt bad for waking up Claus, even if it was for food. No matter how tired he was, he wouldn't stop working until he was unable to stand straight.

Lucas couldn't understand how he did this day after day and wondered where did the powerful drive come from? Even though Claus told him he 'wanted to be reliable', it didn't seem to be the only reason. Lucas would tell him that he thought of him as such and that he didn't have to work so hard, but he would keep going anyways; it was strange and worrying.

He wondered most of all... how could he make _his_ life a little more easier?

As his twin continued to keep still in his gentle sleep, Lucas frowned in persistent concern for him. He thought about the things he himself has done. He felt the number of things Claus did and tried to do was so much more compared to what he's been doing. Everything Lucas did required time and patience. He kept track of all the crops growing, he'd repair any damaged clothes, and he would make the meals. It just didn't feel like enough to him when he had plenty of spare energy while Claus was so tired and at times sore; he was close to feeling a little useless.

His frown deepened as he quietly exited the room.

As the saddened boy walked down the wooden stairs, each sharp squeak of the old wood spiked his currently sensitive nerves. At the bottom of the platforms, he sat down on the last step and sighed. He remembered when he told Claus that they both could do things, and they were, it just didn't feel balanced and fair with how tired Claus was. He wondered if he could attempt the things Claus done every other day so he could sleep more, and would he even comply to that? Thinking so much about it, he felt physically weighed down with his sadness. It only worsened when he felt that he was being melodramatic and childish.

"No need to think about it...just do it." He mumbled and picked the weight and himself up. "Follow your own advice, Lucas..." he scolded himself and stretched his waking limbs. As bothered as he was, he decided that he would figure it out after he took care of the plants. It was early, and the weather was mild enough that he didn't really need to change clothing, so he went right out the door. There was morning fog outside, effects of the light rain from the night before. The outdoors had a cool misty feel and he enjoyed it quite a lot until he realized that the plants were taken care of by nature itself. "Darn..." He murmured and wandered to the garden regardless. He hoped that there was something to harvest because if memory served right, there was nothing left to eat but a pair of eggs.

To his displeasure, the tomatoes were yellow, corn was still immature, and various other crops simply weren't ready to eat yet. They were all watered right as expected, but not being ready to pick was highly disappointing. He looked up at the cloudy sky that was in-tune with his mood and sighed again; today was not looking swell for the big step he wanted to take. He couldn't do things around the house, neither could he force himself to go back to sleep; what possibly could he do now? He solemnly walked back into his house and locked the door. It was a strange thing to do in Tazmilly, but he couldn't help but feel secure these days when he locked it. If one were to think of it, many things strange and unusual to Tazmilly were becoming normal which he didn't like.

He still hadn't experienced what his twin had, but he was beginning to have a strong unpleasant taste of it. He heard something move and turned his head to the side but saw nothing. When he continued to stare in the direction he swore he heard something move at, the spinning wheel then turned ever so slightly. It compelled him to move over to it, it shouldn't have been spinning on its own like that. When he examined it, it looked like it was damaged at the pedal. He stroked the smooth but aged wood in nostalgia and empathy. He remembered when he got to use it once when he pleaded his diligent mother that he wanted to spin it. He didn't do it as great as her, but he remembered the fun he had. He sat on her stool and stared at it.

It'd teetered a little to the left and then to the right like a round seesaw. He kept this up for a few moments before growing bored of that and stood up again. Before leaving the area, he stroked it one last time before heading into the kitchen. His stomach growled but he was bracing for the worst. He opened the cupboards that were empty besides utensils used to cook and the sacks of seasonal seeds. Opening the last...there really weren't any eggs left after all.

"Oh-" As he took a step back in horror, he bumped into his groggy twin. He was frightened until he saw his messy red hair and his tired green eyes that expressed confusion. "Claus."

"Wait a sec..." he said and held a plain white box into view between them. "Happy birthday." Lucas stared at him bewildered and even somewhat startled. Claus tilt his head and asked, "Did you forget today's our birthday?"

"...It is?"

Claus chuckled sleepily and replied, "How'd you forget?"

"...I don't know..." Lucas answered. He looked between the eyes of his twin and the box that he held. He took the box but didn't open it. "Claus."

"...Whats wrong?"

"We don't... have anything."

"What?"

"We don't have any eggs, we don't have... _anything._ "

What should have been an alarming thing to hear strangely wasn't to the other boy who had an immediate solution. He exclaimed, "We'll go fishing then!" He pulled at Lucas's right cheek and added, "Nothing should bring this day down!" Not even Lucas's persistent frowning would make him take back those words. "It's a good hour to anyways!"

"But-"

"No buts," he rebutted and crossed his arms. "Also, go on, open your box."

Lucas frown grown at the sudden demand. He debated between just doing as told or protesting the gift. He murmured, "But I didn't get you anything..."

"And that's okay!" Lucas kept frowning. "Lucas, c'mon, please stop frowning!" He was beginning to falter. Lucas puckered his bottom lip as he looked away. He felt bad for a number of things. He didn't really do anything today, he wasn't going to be able to do anything today at this rate, he forgot their birthday and thus didn't get his twin anything in return, even though they never really given each other anything until now. The more he shuffled the scrambled thoughts in his mind, he realized why he had forgotten; their mother sacrificed herself today. His puckered lip quivered. "Lucas..." It seemed that today _was_ going to be brought down before it even officially had the chance to start. Claus wasn't one to surrender so easily however. "Why are you so down?"

"Did you forget...?" He didn't want to sound condescending, he didn't want to be negative, and he most certainly didn't want to be more of a burden... but he couldn't help but ask.

"No I haven't," he answered. "I haven't forgotten her or what she done for us. And I didn't forget anything else that happened." He figured _this_ was making Lucas frown so much. He gripped his sulking shoulders and shook him gently. "But, Lucas, we can't frown everyday... Today's going to be different, and so will the following days. You said you wanted to do stuff together, so lets smile together."

Lucas sighed, "Okay..." and gripped the box that was in his hands.

"And open that."

" _Okay..._ " In response of being nagged at. When he opened the plain white box, it had another box within it... He raised a confused brow as he opened the second box that was wooden; there wasn't anything in that box at all, either. "Huh." He was wondering if there was a joke that he was missing when he heard Claus laughing.

“Taking things literally as always..." He fondly stated and closed the wooden box. "Second box is the present."

Lucas pulled the wooden box out and noticed what made it stick out. It was painted his favorite colors red, yellow, and pink; but the pink was a small spot at the top. The front of it had a little simply made lock, and it was a fair size to put most things into it. He could tell that Claus made it, it didn't have any minerals or burn markings of something Bronson would make. It was worked into what it was; pure wood. He wondered if he got over his grudge with Lighter to obtain the pieces. None the less, he smiled and chuckled, "Thanks, I really like this box now that I took the time to look at it."

"I should've done more to the inside by making compartments or something like that..." He thought aloud while scratching his head.

"No, no, it's fine the way it is. I can definitely make use of this, thank you," Lucas reassured.

Lucas's stomach made an audible growl and Claus chuckled, "We should really get going now!"

Lucas sheepishly rubbed his tummy and nodded in agreement.

.-.-.-.

Tazmilly continued to be a ghost town.

To others, it would be rather fascinating to explore in thought, but to the twins, it was troubling. It wasn't _so_ early in the morning that _nobody_ would be awake. When they knocked on the inn it was locked and no one answered; not even when Claus yelled for attention. The town was eerily quiet, and Caroline wasn't available either for a hello or a quick request for birthday cookies. This irritated Claus. If he didn't have a bucket and fishing equipment in his hands he would have been crossing his arms.

"Claus, I don't think she would've been able to bake the cookies anyway...She's running out of a lot of supplies too, and when I looked at the Inn's garden, all of their vine work were plucked but the nuts that didn't finish growing."

"Everyone's running out! Aren't they supposed to keep better track of this?" The redhead of the pair grumbled.

"Well...More people are popping up..." Lucas answered. He was hesitant because he didn't like to state anything that wasn't entirely factual, but it was a good guess.

"With how empty and quiet this place is, I'd think otherwise!"

Lucas sheepishly laughed and joked, "Hopefully no one is thinking of fishing too..."

"Agh...! Lucas, we got to hurry!"

"B-but I was just joking!"

"For all we know they could be hogging the cliff edges! Come on, come on!" He couldn't grab Lucas's hands to drag him along, but he hoped he would pick up his pace if he theoretically left him behind. It wasn't hard to ignore the damage taking place in the town's outskirt routes, even if the adults called it 'construction'. There were more tank tracks, piles of weird stone amongst other things that were piling up everywhere. Though Lucas spotted Isaac in weird clothing, he didn't stop to ask questions, he kept trying to keep up with his hasty twin. Claus was relieved to see that the fishing spots were not packed at all, and neither was that weird chubby girl there either. "Okay, good," he breathed out. He needed to catch up with his breath.

"But that's Nana's spot," Lucas informed.

"But she isn't even here," Claus mumbled, his eyebrows slightly furrowed in irritation. He was hungry and anxious, and couldn't care less about other people but them.

Lucas shrugged and replied, "Well, I was just saying in case you didn't want to be around her or something. She's quite chatty not that I mind."

"Ehh...it can't be that bad," he said and sat down. In actuality, he imagined that her 'chatty' trait could very well be as bad as implied, but he ran for so long and he was so hungry he didn't care to move. He cast his fishing rod and sighed heavily.

Their stomachs growled in unison.

"...Waiting is going to be _fun_ , huh?"

"I never liked the waiting part...and now I'm going to dislike it even more," Claus whined lowly. "Plus I have to prepare them before grilling them. Great..."

"Hey, 'nothing's gonna bring this day down', remember?" Lucas bitterly joked. His sense of humor was quite off today.

" _Nothing_ ," Claus replied and forced a smile.

His smile turned genuine when he yanked a fish out of the ocean.

.-.-.-.

When they returned home, Claus was bewildered that they didn't catch anymore than three fish. Whenever he went fishing with their father here in the past, they caught a lot. They caught enough to _share_ with the others, but now it took a very long time to catch just those three.

"Claus, it's okay..." Lucas murmured.

Claus frowned in disappointment and replied, "but we only caught three."

"At least we have _something_ , Claus," he rebutted and reassuringly patted his shoulder. "Now we need to decide if we split one and save the other two for the night, or two now and split the last one..."

As tempting as eating two whole fish was, he ironed out his temptations with as much logic as he could muster and answered, "split the odd one."

"Alright, you...do that," Lucas said while inching away. He didn't want to be around when he started gutting, beheading, and descaling the thing.

Claus wasn't very surprised that his twin was trying to get away from this, but he figured Lucas should want to learn how to prepare fish if something were to happen to him next. He asked,"You don't want to learn how to do this?"

"...No," he meekly replied in hopes he didn't have to explain any further.

"Alright." Claus understood and got to work.

Lucas picked up his present and headed to the main room. He examined his pretty and nicely sized box and wondered what special things he would put inside of it. He rather enjoyed the box and wondered what he could possibly get his twin in return, even if delayed in delivery. He decided it would just come to him during one of his thought sessions because at the moment, he was far too preoccupied with eating.

Claus got the job done as quickly as possible. The fish was evenly split into two and grilled. For once Lucas was tolerant of the salty taste and crunchy texture, he even enjoyed how it fixed the way his stomach felt quite nicely. The pair also couldn't help themselves but grill a not-so-ready piece of corn and split the cob as well.

"Maybe we should just go ahead and harvest the stuff already?" Lucas suggested while wiping his mouth.

"I think we should go ahead and let it grow..." Claus replied. He then chuckled shortly after, "Unless we get particularly hungry."

"Haha, it'll probably be tomorrow then!" Lucas laughed as well and nudged his twin's pudgy waist. The next nudge was more of a jab when he heard a sudden loud knocking on their door.

"Ow!" Claus cried. It wouldn't have bothered him so much if he hadn't just finished eating.

"Sorry! The sound of the door just startled me," Lucas explained with a sheepish smile.

"Yeah, I know," Claus replied and got up. "I'll get it." Lucas wanted to tell him to be careful, but reminded himself that he was just being unnecessarily paranoid. When Claus opened the door and saw Fuel, he slipped a grin.

"Hey and happy birthday!" Fuel cheerfully greeted with a wide and inviting smile.

"Where were you today—and everyone else for that matter?"

"Oh you know! Everyone's busy as usual and now crankier over the food stuff and all that," Fuel halfheartedly answered. "But anyways!" He beamed and grabbed his usually grumpy friend's shoulders. "Come to the inn! Where's Lucas? He gotta come too!"

As Lucas made his way over, he answered,"I'm over here," in his usually quiet voice.

"Oh, come on! We gotta go!"

Claus raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why? What's there?" Just to be difficult.

Fuel's face soured because he knew if he said 'it's a surprise!' it wouldn't be a surprise anymore because everyone knew what surprise parties were.

"Just 'cause, Claus!"

"That doesn't answe-" Before he could bother Fuel for fun some more, he was caught off guard by Lucas exiting the house. "Where are you going?"

"To the inn," he answered and kept on walking ahead.

"Hey! You can't just leave me behind like that!"

As Fuel sighed in relief, he closed the door for the twins and hurried after them.

.-.-.-.

Back in town, Fuel done his best to keep the curious twins behind him as much as he could. They were so strangely very eager and curious. He was also realizing that Lucas may in fact, get horrendously startled by people bouncing out and shouting surprise. He stepped aside and watched Claus take the lead as expected and open the door. Hopefully they would be trigger happy and scare him instead.

"What? Its still empty.”

"What were you expecting, Claus?"

"I unno something interesting with the way you were acting," he replied while shrugging.

As soon as Fuel and Lucas stepped into view, the tweens and Tessie leapt out from their hiding spaces behind the counter and shouted, "Surprise!"

Lucas flinched but Claus _knew_ to expect something, he couldn't place the air he sensed but this was it. He appreciated the gesture but it didn't stop him from trying to hide his grin. Embarrassed and rather startled, Lucas sheepishly said, "T-thanks...! Really...appreciated." He then chanted in his mind, "Claus, Fuel. Please take over. Please take over. _Please take over._ " Angie approached, and he stepped behind Fuel. He hadn't a clue what his poor friend went through with her which was making the upcoming situation all the worse. Both Fuel and Angie's expressions momentarily crumbled before forcing smiles on their features.

"Lucas, I just wanted you to try a slice of your cake! I made it, you know."

" _We_ did, Angie. Remember? _I_ came up with the flavor idea, I thought we went over this hours ago?"

Lucas didn't know whether to step between them both or to sneak away to Claus. Fuel's, and especially Angie's behavior was disturbing.

"You did, but _I_ did the baking, though..."

And he really hated fighting of any kind.

"I-I really appreciate it, you two! And I'm sure Claus does as well. Thank you for thinking of us." The brunettes then stopped fighting momentarily. The three of them looked at each other, and just about the time Angie was about to open her mouth to speak, Lucas hurried off to his twin that was occupied with Alle.

Fuel was suddenly claw gripped on the shoulder by Angie. He hissed and angrily glared at her.

She asked in a harsh whisper, "Did you say something because of the thing I said about Claus?"

"No I didn't!" He harshly whispered back. "You know how timid Lucas is! Stop clawing my shoulder, gosh!" She begrudgingly let him go and angrily frowned. He was angrily frowning at her as much and added, "What's so hard about talking to the both of them, anyways? Just go ahead and do it. Or something." He really wanted Angie to go back to normal. She had been unusually edgy and annoying to him and he couldn't understand why. This wasn't the girl he knew and liked.

Lucas was hoping to have gotten away from her, and was glad that Alle was asking many questions to keep Claus from asking him what was wrong for the umpteenth time. It had been so long since he interacted with other kids that being around them made him fairly nervous. Not Fuel, he was always around every day or so, but being around the others was odd. He figured most of them forgotten they existed by now. Or was it Fuel that reminded them? Or Angie?

"Cake?" Claus suggested by offering the plate and fork to him. He would've eaten it much faster had he not been bugged by Alle, or distracted by Lucas's sudden appearance compelling him to share his slice.

"Ah...uh..." Lucas was still jumpy. Being offered the cake reminded him that Angie apparently put a lot of effort into it even if Fuel suggested the flavor to her. That made him feel both flattered and bad. He was flattered that she put the effort for him, but felt bad that she was putting the effort towards who he felt was the wrong person. He wasn't sure how to tell her that and he already had too many things troubling him as it was.

"Lucas," Angie appeared yet again. She watched as he took the cake from Claus and took a big bite out of it.

"W-wait that's a big bite!" Claus uttered out in shock. His heart was weeping for his disappearing slice. The cake tasted so good for being vanilla flavored; it had to be the thick chocolate coating on the outside.

Alle exclaimed, "We can get another slice, Tessie will cut another one!" She then grasped his hand tighter. She giggled happily when Claus got up and went with her for more cake.

"Haha...Alle sure likes Claus. Did you notice, Lucas?" Angie asked while standing where Claus once was. Lucas took another bite out of the cake and nodded in reply. He was running out of cake to excuse himself over, and Angie was running out of time. "You know it's obvious when a girl's heart is glowing."

"And it isn't when a boy's is," he uttered out while circling the fork over the last piece of the cake left over.

"I wish it was."

"I suppose that's what girls help with," he answered and poked the last bit. He lifted it up but didn't bite into it, he instead bit his bottom lip in hesitation. He looked over to see that Claus and Alle coming back. He looked at the piece of cake again and then to Angie. "Fuel's... really bent up about you. You can cheer him up more than you think," he stated and took the last bite of the cake. Just in time, his twin came back and looked between them with a curious expression. Lucas chewed the cake slowly to purposely keep his mouth full, but he greeted his twin with a raise of his hand.

Claus nodded at Lucas and then turned to Angie and requested, "Can you tell your mom thanks for the cake?"

Angie was still caught up on her affection's words. It felt like not only did he read her mind, he rejected her simultaneously. Her eyes stung as she registered her reaction and her surroundings. Lucas was still looking down at his now empty plate, Alle was swinging her favorite person's hand back and forth, and Claus looked flustered. It took her a moment to realize Claus had requested she pass on a message to her mother and uttered, "W-what?"

He noted his slight mumbling and cleared his throat. He stated, "I said, 'can you tell your mom thanks for the cake'. I heard she was running out of stuff like everyone else...so I really appreciate it." He was blushing as he stated it. He found it terribly embarrassing but couldn't leave things unsaid, but neither did he notice that it shocked Angie a lot that he sincerely said this.

"W-we are, but I made the cake." She paused when she thought about Fuel and Lucas then added, "Fuel picked out the flavor and frosting."

"Oh." His blush deepened. There was a ton more effort put into this than he ever expected. "...Thanks." He cleared his throat again and looked at Lucas.

"It was delicious," Lucas stated with a small smile.

Angie tried her best to smile and then walked away. Lucas felt a bit of relief, but also felt sadness as well. It was as hard as he expected it to be, but he tried not to dwell on it and thought about Claus's quote of today. Claus didn't comment, the air was awkward enough and he didn't really get what happened. All he really cared and wished for was to eat his cake, but he was holding it with his free hand and Alle had a vice grip on his other hand. He finally asked, "Alle...Can I eat my cake now?" She nodded and let his hand go. He smiled that she complied so easily and he could use the fork and bite into his cake. As soon as he did, she planted her face into his back and hugged his waist.

Lucas couldn't help but snicker at his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On ffnet there is a guest story by Blue Toad called "Cake making with the demoness". It's a one-shot that sheds light on the situation between Angie and Fuel.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains graphic violence.

Though exhausted from the party, Lucas had snuck out of bed to the main room downstairs. He had a lit candle that endured burning for the past hour and on. It was a fairly long stick of wax he hoped they didn't need too much of in the future. His eyes weren't doing him big favors with his task, however. He couldn't tell if it was the combination of exhaustion and only the aid of a mild candle light, or if his eyesight really was deteriorating as time went by regardless of those glasses. The lingering thought drove him to stubbornly complete the task before even thinking about going to bed.

"Ow!" He hissed when he pricked the tip of his thumb with the sewing needle. He pulled his finger back to avoid dripping blood on the project and sucked his thumb for a few moments. He snorted at the taste of his blood, but as long as it didn't stain his goal he would endure it. He examined his thumb as best as he could then pressed it against the collar of his pajama top; there was no blood in sight so he continued. As he resumed, he smiled at how he was pulling the idea off and that he had more skill than he gave himself credit for. It was quite the confidence booster for him.

As he carefully sewn his gift, the chirping of the summer cicadas outside soothed him because he wasn't very good with complete silence. If it weren't for those cicadas he would've disturbed Boney to protect him. Carefully placing the needle aside, he dug in his box for a pair of scissors to cut small oval pieces out of a sock, and then a long and thin piece he planned to sew together into a tube. Amongst the pile of materials was fluffy wool he's been stuffing into the gift piece by piece. He was very tender with the finishing details, sewing on the final pieces of the monkey he made out of one of his long pale brown winter socks. When he was done he placed his needle and thread down and held it up, only to realize he had forgotten something.

He plucked two buttons from the top of his stripped pajamas and picked up his needle and thread once again. As improvised as the gift was, down to the light blue buttons he plucked off his very shirt, he thought it was very cute, and it was the first major thing he ever made. He was proud of it and himself, but his smile was over-taken by a heavy yawn. He stretched before he cleaned up his mess, and when done, he placed the monkey in an obscure, but dust-free cabinet. He then picked up his candle and sluggishly headed up the stairs and to the door frame of their room. He blew the candle out and placed it aside and crawled back to bed.

Just as he snuggled into the covers and soft sheets, Claus's hand tapped around on his head.

"Claus?" Lucas yawned but got no verbal reply; he must've been doing it in his sleep again. The restless arm draped over him and settled down, as did Lucas himself. He exhaled heavily and curled against his twin.

Lightning struck right through their roof.

He clutched Claus's back in pure fear and reflux at the threatening loud boom. The older twin was immediately alerted and rolled out of the bed with his twin. The once tough structure of the ceiling fell and crashed onto the floor. Some smaller pieces slammed into the bed, only to bounce off of it to the floor shortly afterward. The more heavy and broken wood that fell, the tighter Lucas clawed into the one who made him feel safest. He was quaking in his hold and his heart was pounding hard enough to bust out of his chest. He was unable to move, and he was so dazed that he couldn't fully absorb Claus doing his best to carry him out of the room, wobbling as he done so.

Before he knew it, he lost consciousness.

.-.-.-.

When Lucas opened his eyes, he saw the freckled face of Claus. His eyes were closed, but his expression was stressed. The moment he turned to sit up, his twins eyes opened up.

"Are you okay?" He asked immediately

"Huh?"

"You probably weren't awake for it...but lightning struck through our roof and it really did a number on our room. I should've taken us to the spare room, but it was much simpler to just stop in the main room." He explained and yawned at the end.

When Claus explained what happened, he did suddenly remember.

"I...I remember," he murmured. Recalling the noise, he hid face his in his twin's chest and shuddered. He felt better when Claus smoothed his hand up and down his aching back. Neither of them had an easy sleep, and neither did they sleep in a usual or comfortable way. "We should...lay back down somewhere. Like the extra room..." The tired blonde stood up with troubled balance, but he did not fall over. While his twin yawned on the floor, he heard Boney barking. It wasn't a usual bark, but a threatening kind. "Boney?" He worryingly called out and hurried to the door.

Though sudden movements and departures always distressed his twin, Boney needed someone to worry about and look out for him too. Outside around the house, he only saw Boney tugging at someone's pink clothing and snarling.

"Get this mutt offa me!"

"Just kick it in the face!"

Lucas was alarmed at the 'solution' one of the intruders offered and was shocked when the other actually kicked his dog. He didn't have the time to go over to Boney's dog house and get that stick, but he picked up his mother's fairly big and thick watering can and threw it straight into the stomach of the offending pigmask. Two other ones appeared and threateningly had their fists raised. Lucas's fear was creeping its way back, but Boney bravely lunged himself and bit the second one right in the leg. As the pigmask shook himself around in hope to shake Boney off, the courageous dog's jaw stayed clamp into his bleeding thigh. The timid boy was startled when he was yanked back, but soon saw that it was Claus taking the initiative.

"Boney!" He called for him to come back. The furry warrior let go of his foe and hurried to the side of Lucas. With Boney keeping an eye on Lucas, he now had nothing to worry about. "Get the hell off our lawn!" He hollered and threw a lightning bolt over at the one furthest in the back. It launched the soldier right off the cliff and into the ocean. Lucas winced and held onto Boney who thankfully wasn't too hurt. He decided to turn his head away, knowing it'll only get more violent from here on out because the other two looked resilient.

"We're fully aware of you because of lord Fassad!" One exclaimed and charged over to Claus with a metal rod. The irritated boy sensed an electrical current hiding within it and grabbed for it. He was correct and concentrated his own energy into it. He focused for his energy to shoot through the palm and into the body of the strange man. It overwhelmed the Pigmask holding it, he had lost control of his seizing body that not even his gloves could protect against. Claus ceased the shocking and headbutted the soldier in the gut knocking him over. He took the metal rod from him and stepped on _and_ past him to get to the last pigmask who was on guard. Though Claus couldn't see the soldier's eyes behind the silly mask, he angrily stared up at him anyway, wagging the pole in his left hand threateningly.

The pigmask wondered just what to do? The child's stare before him was unusually fierce and potentially on the cruel side. He briefly recalled what his king had said about the 'annoying dangers' of 'PSI' and that Fassad also warned how powerful that it was. It surely showed with how a twelve year old in his pajamas was taking them out one by one with single swift actions. While he was thinking and recalling things in his mind, he felt the rod slam into his waist. He was hit with it again, and when he fell onto the ground, his head was kicked, but was protected by his helmet.

"Get up, and take the other idiot with you," the boy ordered while nudging the wobbly helmet with his foot. The groaning man on the ground motioned, but lied back down in pain. "Hey! Get up and get out before I strike you again!" He had a strong hatred for these soldiers, and their weakness was only angering him further. _These_ were the people who plucked apart the animals, destroyed his home land, the forest, his family's lives, and now the food they were growing. He was boiling with rage, and his balled up hands were trembling the more he looked at the pigmask that was slowly, and pitifully getting up. "Hurry up!"

The pigmask hobbled past them both, and even his comrade he abandoned for his own well being. Lucas was tightly holding onto Boney, the entire situation made him uncomfortable and Claus's aggression was worrying. Though he didn't like the masked soldiers himself, he did wonder about the one knocked off the dangerous cliff edge and the one that wasn't moving in view. He watched Claus nudge the fallen soldier with the rod he shocked him with. He didn't make a noise, neither did he move, it was especially hard to see if he was breathing.

"Is..is he dead?" Lucas quietly asked. As he watched Claus crouch down to the pigmask, it was dreadfully suspenseful.

Claus noted the red stained grass, and that the pigmask wasn't moving no matter how many times he poked him. He answered,"Looks like it," and walked away from the pigmask to Lucas and Boney. The meek boy hid his face from the dead man in Boney's neck. "Lucas... it's alright. They would've hurt us if we hadn't fought back."

"B-but..."

"They're trying to take _us_ out. I'm sure they're the one that did that to our roof, and they just destroyed everything you worked hard at growing." He gently lifted his face up to look into his sad eyes. "They don't feel anything for us, and we shouldn't for them. Not after everything they've done and are still doing. We have to protect ourselves..." He frowned when his scared twin whimpered and released his held in tears. "...Actually..." He softly began and patted Lucas's head. "Don't worry about it. _I'll_ protect you." He gestured for a hug and Lucas responded by going for it and resting his head in his neck.

"W-what are we going to do...?"

"Don't worry, lets just go inside," he answered and patted his back. He got up and helped Lucas up afterward. Still having a hold of his hand, he lead him inside and whistled for Boney to follow them as well. "Take a seat, and relax," he advised. When Lucas done as told, he walked up the stairs.

Lucas fiddled with his thumbs and nibbled on his bottom lip. His brain was in over drive from everything that had just occurred in a matter of hours. Their home was struck by lightning despite no sign of rain, they were just personally attacked by three strange men, and two of them were killed by his dog and twin. It was hard to adjust to, and his morals were battling in his mind and spirit. Things weren't peaceful anymore, and neither could he deny it anymore like he done the entire year. It made him nervous, he didn't want anymore to die, and he definitely did not want Claus or Boney to die; and especially...by protecting him.

As he looked at his trembling hands clothes fell right into them.

"I was going to let you rest here while I go to town but... I worry about you being here alone," Claus explained. All of that prior aggression he had was gone, and it showed he _was_ bothered but was trying to brush it off. "It'll be fast... and then you can rest."

"Claus..." Lucas lowly called. "I...need..." His confidence in himself faltered at the idea, but his twin's reassuring grasp encouraged him. "To learn how to fight too..." He swallowed the lump in his throat to continue clearly. "You can't be around me all the time...and neither do I want to make you worry or do everything. Y-you can't. I need to learn how to do things myself and protect myself, and help the ones I care about..."

Claus rubbed Lucas's stiff shoulder with his thumb. He wasn't exactly sure _how_ to teach someone how to fight, it was just something _he_ did and just knew how to do. It was like a second nature to him and he felt his powerful PSI only accented this. Lucas had a point, and he wanted to keep his promise that the two of them would always work together. He nodded and said, "Alright, but we need to take care of things first."

Lucas nodded and went off to curiously check on their room as well as get dressed. After walking up the stairs, he warily stepped into their room and saw all the damage. His half of the bed was broken and torn, and on the ground was charred, pointy pieces of their ceiling. The mess and damage was disheartening, even though he could see the bright blue sky and fluffy clouds by looking up. He sighed and got dressed as quickly as possible. When he returned downstairs, he saw that Claus was petting Boney with a troubled expression. He wondered what was on his mind and what he could do. Just as he stepped closer, his expression changed in a flash and he stood right up.

"We can fix this, alright?" Claus said out of the blue and gestured for his hand. "We can push through anything, we just have to believe in our lives."

Lucas felt his eyes sting at those words and nodded. He grabbed for Claus's hand and tightly grasped it. Claus squeezed it in return and walked on ahead and opened the door. The body was gone, but there was a note where it once was. Claus picked it up by the unstained edge and saw that it read, _'Go to town_ '. He raised a brow and let the paper go in the wind. He shook his head and grumbled, "What now..." and headed to town regardless of the note requesting them to.

.-.-.-.

Large crowd, tacky music, multitudes of voices, but one stood out amongst the rest.

"Not all anniversaries are happy ones, but we can turn that around like we did a year ago! It is time for another round of happy boxes! I am afraid that these are the last set for awhile because we have to spend our resources on bringing food over to the population!"

"When would that be?" Caroline asked, her tone of voice dripping with concern.

"I am sorry to inform it would have to be a few days!" The crowd replied with various complaining calls of displeasure, but Fassad held his hands up and answered, "I am sure you all can hold out on what you have now, we are doing the best that we can. We are delivering new sets of happy boxes to soothe you, commencing the plan of better roads, and now we will deliver exotic new foods in a matter of days!"

Claus's temper was rising at the sound of Fassad's voice and the trusting cheers that followed after it. His anger showed on his face clear as day. The crowd was evenly split like a path was opened for when the twins arrived. Claus was in front, and yards away he could see Fasad on a bright stage and Fassad could surely see him and his glaring bright green eyes. Lucas kept his face hidden from all the eyes that now turned to the two of them, he couldn't recall a time he had so many eyes on him. The stares felt incriminating.

"Ahh, you two. Your house was struck by lightning hours ago, the lightning that I foresaw that would strike. Tragic, yet eerie it struck you first." The incriminating stares that was directed towards them intensified with blame. "Nearly the same date of the prior incidents...coincidental or a sign?" He smirked when those green eyes he intently stared at hardened with each passing word. "I'm sure all of this would correct itself if you follow the trail with your fellow town members." Still, neither boy gave him a verbal reply.

"Excuse me for a moment, Fassad," the mayor butted in. "You pair, weren't you growing a large portion for the town?"

Claus nonchalantly answered, "trouble makers trampled them all."

"What?"

"Who?"

"How could you allow such a thing to happen!"

"Way to go!"

None of those scolding yells mattered to Claus, and he silently reminded Lucas it shouldn't matter to him, either. With each yell, he squeezed his hand. Fassad waved his hands around to calm the crowd. As if he were a magician, the crowd did indeed calm down and turned their view back to him. He exclaimed, "No worries! You can always rely on me! I will _always_ deliver!" People quickly cheered for Fassad yet again. Lucas found the quickly shifting behavior deeply disturbing. It was like they were his toys and that they enjoyed it. Couldn't they tell that he was causing everything as well as giving? Why did they praise his actions and let him passive-aggressively abuse them? As he tried to find answers, he was gestured by Claus to leave with him. He abided, and as they left, people audibly mumbled their insults and scorn.

The quiet and empty path to home was welcoming to the twins compared to the packed and chatty town square. On their hill, Boney was waiting for them with a greeting wagging tail. He received a pair of hands on his head as reply and laid in the grass to continue resting his sore body. The twins smiled at their loyal dog.

"Hey Boney," Claus called. He pointed to their house and said, "Go sleep inside, its better that way." Boney figured he'd listen for now than protest with the pride he had for his dog house, even if it would be temporarily unsafe with vengeful pigmasks about. When he went inside and closed the door, something that always amused and impressed Lucas. Claus looked at his twin and said, "So lets start over."

"Start over...?"

"Grab some seeds and start over."

"I was thinking of a nap..." he yawned. "Is that okay...?"

Claus chuckled and pushed Lucas on ahead with a single hand.

"Sure, go ahead."

"You should too, Claus. Neither of us slept really well, and if we don't rest, we'll get sore and weak." Claus looked as if he was just about to budge, but not quite. "I also have something for you!"

"Huh what?" His attention was grabbed as he moved in closer.

"Come in to see," Lucas yawned and entered the house. Watching his footing to make sure he didn't accidentally trip on Boney, he made it to the obscure cabinet. He examined the sock monkey before standing up and shyly turning around with it. He kept his eyes closed as he out stretched his arms with his offer. "I made this while you were sleeping..." As silly as it was, he was worried that Claus would laugh, comment on how girly it was or simply not like it all. None of it happened, and he opened his eyes to see that Claus was smiling. He blushed and placed it into his hands then shifted his eyes away.

Claus recognized what the monkey was made out of and was amazed how it went from a sock to a very distinguishable monkey. He beamed and stated, "I really like this!"

"I'm glad you do," the flustered twin replied and faked a very heavy yawn. "But I really need to lay down," he yawned again. "Reeeally tired," and wandered to the rarely used spare room.

Claus excused him for the moment to smile at his monkey. Just looking at it made him forget the other things and bring back a feeling he hadn't felt since last year and earlier. The glee of a new toy or well, a comfort item of his very own specially made for him. Lucas had the cute bunny, and now he had a cute monkey. He felt like he was given the spirit to work in the yard once more, but remembered Lucas's request for him to rest, so he decided to just give in for now and also went into the spare room.

Lucas was under the cover with his back facing. Claus expected him to scoot away when he crawled in but he didn't.

"Lucas, you made me realize something, but I'll tell you later."


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains graphic violence and gore.

The pair hadn't noticed how late they've slept until they stepped out of the door. Lucas saw the stars out at their brightest and that the sky was a dark blue. He exclaimed, "Oh no, it's the evening!" He looked at his twin who was also looking up and asked, "Claus, can we really do this now?"

"Don't worry, I'll light the way," he answered and gently tugged Lucas without turning back to face him.

The wary twin bit his index finger and asked with concern, "That won't tire you would it?"

Claus chuckled, "No, of course not." He then turned around with a gentle smile and stated, "We'll be okay, Lucas. Things are a race now, and we have to get to the supplies before they do. They'll want to snatch it all up even if they'll be getting stuff from Fatass." He cleared his throat as if a bug abruptly intruded; even cursing the name brought a bad taste in his mouth. "So, Lucas...we're going to have to brace and give it all we got..." He sternly warned but then pet through his unkempt blonde hair afterward.

"R-right..." Lucas murmured and tightened his grip on Claus's hand. He was afraid of what was coming. He was scared that they were going to officially be alone because everyone hated them for for the food being destroyed. He was afraid of having to curb his appetite, afraid that he had no idea how long a person could go without food, and _terrified_ of the hole in their house and the anticipation of rain flooding it someday.

"Lucas?" Claus asked with concern and placed both of his hands on Lucas's shoulders. "You're breathing funnily..." He did not receive a verbal reply but instead his twin catapulting into his chest. He stumbled in surprise but regained balance and held him close. "Lucas? What's wrong?" His twin still didn't reply and continued to inhale sharply and exhale shakily. Claus was a little nervous, but tried his best to keep calm for him. Lucas obviously wanted comfort, and this must've been the best way to give it. He brushed his ragged hand through his shaggy hair in effort to calm him. Soon, his breathing calmed down and he removed himself from his chest.

"S-sorry...Lets...just go."

"What was that?"

"I got frightened but I didn't want to cry." He lifted his head up and continued, "I had to remind myself that as long as you're here I don't have much to cry about." He placed Claus's hand on his cheek and said, "See? I didn't cry. I hope it'll stay that way."

"I'm sure it will," he replied and lead the way. Boney was still resting his sore body, so they didn't disturb him. Only Claus really knew what they were going to do, Lucas just followed his flow. While Claus didn't need to light the way down their main road or through the town, when they headed west into the forest, his hand flickered similar to a firefly. He held his flickering hand up as he carefully navigated the dark forest.

"Wow...it's so dark..." Lucas quietly observed.

"It'd probably be darker if there were more trees around," Claus commented as he looked around. The paths were quickly being altered and the evidence of such changes were scattered about with towering strange machines. "There were fruit trees somewhere, and I'm very sure they weren't found or burned down." At least he hoped that didn't happen. As they wandered around, he battled with the possible decisions he would have to make in the future. It worried him that he wasn't finding that obscure fruit orchard he sought for. If he couldn't find it, just what could he do for himself and Lucas? Plants didn't grow in a single day, and neither would the town give him anything after today's mishap. He swallowed the lump in his throat and stopped walking.

_Would I really have to give in?_

That's something he never, _ever_ wanted to do unless he absolutely had to, and even then the possibility was painful. He would rather crumble up into a wreck of malnourished skin and bones before he got on one knee for _**that**_ man. Yet, his courageous pride was like a glass cannon; powerful, but still easily broken by none other than Lucas. While he himself wouldn't mind slowly rotting away in stubborn pride, he couldn't do that to sweet Lucas. If he would ever go to Fassad, he would for Lucas. The very idea of letting Lucas down was like letting a sunflower wilt while still having a glass of water in his hand.

With that final passing thought, he noticed an absence of a small pale hand in his right-hand's grasp.

"Lucas?" He called out, forgetting that they were supposed to be quiet. "Lucas!" He froze in his frantic steps when he saw him hugging a green floppy eared creature. His brain had short circuited. Without warning he roughly yanked Lucas away from the chubby lizard.

"A-agh! Claus! It's just the baby!" He was ignored as Claus kept dragging him away from the bewildered and saddened baby drago. "Claus! Hold your horses!"

"Not until we get away from that thing!" He snarled under his breath and kept pulling the resisting Lucas along.

"Claus, he done nothing to us!"

"Yet!"

"He won't ever, Claus!"

"Just like no one else would've done anything to us?" Lucas frowned at his blunt retort and harsh tone. Claus's eyebrows furrowed the most that they could go as he yelled, "It's just us! Me and you! Nobody else! They'd toss us into the fire pit if _**he**_ very well asked them to! We can't care for anybody but ourselves!" He grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Why can't you understand that, Lucas? Who has been there for us the most?!"

" _But our birthday!"_ Lucas shouted in reply with tears pooling at the end of his eyes.

"That never happened!"

"What do you mean it never happened?"

"It was all a load of crap! If it was honestly genuine, they wouldn't have cared what happened to our garden! They wouldn't have chastised us! They wouldn't have said the things they've said and would've offered _something_ about our burnt house!" He answered while waving his fists around in a fit. " **Nobody cares!** " He hollered at his loudest. The baby drago unfortunately followed the arguing pair, and as soon as it was spotted, it saw a snarling red head a few yards ahead. Claus flung a thunderbolt as a warning for it to stay far away. It hopped back a few inches, but it was still torn in wanting contact with the nonthreatening Lucas.

"What are you doing, Claus?!" Lucas demanded an answer. He pushed him into a tree and pinned his wrists from throwing another one at the drago. "What's gotten into you?"

"What _hasn't_ gotten into you?" He retorted. "Why do you insist on showing yourself, your _kindness_ to anyone else anymore? Nothing comes out of it!" His voice weakened as he continued. "I don't want them to hurt you, Lucas...I don't want you to break..." He lowered his head; his flame tamed once more. Lucas loosened the constriction on his wrists and pulled him in for a hug. Claus didn't wrap his arms around Lucas, he focused his weary glare at the baby drago that finally got the clue and hopped away into the abyss of the bushes.

Claus suddenly felt so relaxed and sleepy in his hold. He took in a quick whiff of his scent before wrapping his arms around him. He then slowly traced his fingers up his back to his shoulders. He closed his eyes as he nuzzled his cool and soft skin, sighing slowly afterward. Lucas was once cold in the dark and breezy forest, but suddenly felt heat through out. He fluttered his eyelashes and stood still, unable to really think or move his arms or legs.

A sudden bristle in the leaves coupled with a gruff voice startled the both of them.

Again, Claus was quick to act and pulled Lucas away. As always, he kept Lucas behind him and acted as a shield; it became such a routine that Lucas no longer questioned it and instead leaned into his back in support. Claus carefully watched the two heavy men wander around with their artificial light in their poorly handled inspection. They shrugged at each other and left with irritated grumbles. The wary pair waited several minutes in silence before getting out of hiding. Lucas continued to lean into Claus's back until he signaled for them to hurry north in the dark. He was growing tired and would have begun to lag behind if it weren't for his twin's solid grip on his hand. He murmured, "Claus...I'm getting sleepy."

"I'm sorry, Lucas... Let's just look a little longer," he replied and slowed his pace to not tucker him out. "...Just a little longer," he murmured and kept going.

Day one.

They never found the tree.

Claus had a tight and protective hold on his twin that was curled against his body. He was a light sleeper no matter how tired or wherever he was. His green eyes shot opened when the ground rumbled. He tightened his hold on Lucas as he looked around. He could see trees shaking and birds fleeing into the cloudy sky. Machines were moving, and that unpleasantly familiar sound made him want to flee immediately. He shook Lucas who didn't budge in his heavier sleep.

He didn't stall and slung him over his shoulder and went deeper into the forest instead of on the way to town. He winced at the claw gashes on the stone walls as well as the sight of all the slashed trees; the area had a whole new eerie feel. It was a year since he's been here and it was unchanged. He swallowed the lump in his throat and carried on, thankful that there weren't any patch work creatures or machinery around. He placed Lucas down on a thick grass patch and sat down exhaling a heavy sigh.

He felt a chill and hugged his knees. He wished that he had felt another sleepy spell, but he couldn't shake off this feeling that he had, that constant 'what if' relentlessly circling his mind. The wind that made the leaves rustle and the noise of a pebble rolling by all haunted him and caused him to hug his knees tighter. He hugged them so tightly, that he felt a pain when his stomach growled. He grimaced and recalled his ever so recent failure of finding that place where the fruit grew. He could've blamed the darkness, but that was inexcusable to him. He looked at Lucas and frowned, imagining how he would feel when he woke up and _his_ stomach growled next.

He buried his face into his knees but jolted right at the moment the tree leaves above him rustled once again.

.-.-.-.

When Lucas woke up, he wondered what time it was. Blinking up at the sky, he couldn't tell because it was so foggy and cloudy. He shifted to his right, sensing his twin and saw that he was sleeping sitting up, but his eyebrows were twitching. Lucas motioned to sit up, but some dying leaves under him made an unpleasant crunching noise that caused Claus to wake up and look around. He hadn't registered it yet, but the blonde boy in the leaf pile was frowning at him in concern; but the anxious boy took it as disappointment and frowned in reply.

"Claus, where are we...?" Lucas asked with a yawn.

"Further in the forest... I think we have to stay here until night time again, all of the pig guys are shaking up the forest down there..."

"...We can't just go by?"

"...I don't want to risk it," he answered and scooted closer to him for warmth. He looked down at his green shoes that were starting to get too small for him. He didn't have the energy to get _angry_ at his clothes getting small, just upset; that took less energy. He couldn't phantom why he was suddenly growing so much, it worried and bothered him. He didn't want to trouble Lucas to try and extend his clothing or even try to make shoes; he might instantaneously out grow those too. He grumbled in frustration as his cheeks flushed.

Lucas saw that he was flustered and said, "I understand..." then patted his shoulder. "Soo...what are we to do?" He didn't want to bring up the fact they planned starting the garden over, he didn't want to give him a reason to burden himself that something _very important_ wasn't going according to plan at this rate.

"I...I don't know. I wish we could've found that orchard. It probably doesn't even exist anymore..." he muttered.

"We looked in the dark, Claus. Cut yourself some slack, okay?" Lucas reassured and rocked him by his shoulder. "There's light now, and we could keep going, you know! We can even go for a drink of water too."

"...Yeah, I could use a cool drink." He got up and stretched his sore limbs. It was Lucas who grabbed his hand and gently pulled him along this time. At the river bank, the two of them filled their canisters as well as got a fulfilling sip with their bare hands.

"Soon enough, the bags on our backs will have weight to them." He said and smiled at the sullen boy walking besides him.

Claus smiled back at him and nodded.

.-.-.-.

An orange tree was found. Lucas had to stop Claus from zapping them out of the tree, and he knew his hot-headed twin was too tired to climb so he done so himself. It took him a bit of time, but Claus's encouraging cheers pushed him up. At the top of the tree, he filled up his bag as much as he could and then tossed more to his keen eyed twin who caught them all without fail.

"Oookay, now about getting down from here..." Lucas chuckled nervously and looked down at Claus for an idea.

"If you slip up, I'll catch you!"

"I-I wouldn't doubt that...! But wouldn't we get hurt?"

"I don't think so, just go for it!" He laughed in reply and had his arms opened wide. He watched as Lucas carefully and albeit clumsily climb down, trying his best not to lose his grip. "Don't stub your fingers!"

"I'm aware!" He did scrape his knees on the scratchy bark, but he didn't mind it too much. His arms were growing tired, but he was just about down. He wanted to show Claus that he could do this and endured the wear he was beginning to feel. His feet touched the grassy ground and he smiled widely. "Great!" He happily exclaimed.

"Yeah, you did it, Lucas!" Claus congratulated. Just as he was about to pat his blonde hair, his stomach growled fiercely. Lucas smiled and sat down, pulling out two oranges for them to eat.

"You know...what will we do about Boney?" Lucas asked as he bit into the juicy orange.

"I'm sure he'll figure it out."

"You sure? You know how Boney doesn't move around much."

"He does when the situation calls for. I'm surprised it's me saying this, you usually encourage the fatty." He snickered when he was playfully nudged by Lucas.

Deep down he knew this moment wasn't going to last, but he kept that pestering thought as deep down as he could.

.-.-.-.

While Lucas became obliviously happy with running around the forest and being free again, Claus had nagging feelings of the things he could be doing. He walked along side the smiling Lucas who was twirling a colorful flower between his fingers. While Lucas still got enjoyment from these things, Claus gotten his from working, progressing, and protecting. When he didn't do those things he felt bothered and lost unless Lucas talked to him; but he hadn't an idea for conversation.

"Claus, the sun's setting, you don't think we can go yet?"

"I'd rather wait until it's darker..." He answered and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He had a few nuts he picked up while Lucas was relaxed in a lonesome flower bed.

"Okay...I just really miss being home."

"I miss it too," he idly answered and brushed his arm against Lucas to walk as closely as possible to him.

.-.-.-.

At night, they were finally able to go home again. Lucas had wound up napping to pass the time while Claus hadn't. Too many creatures were moving about in the evening for him to be comfortable. Once home, Boney was just fine and still had dog supplies, though he was close to being in the situation the twins were. Claus lied in bed with Lucas until the oblivious boy was sound asleep; he then gotten up and left. He had seeds and he had a shovel, he wouldn't have been able to have a peaceful rest without doing this.

Day two

When Lucas woke up the following morning, he was upset that Claus had done the chores while he slept, and even then he still didn't sleep much himself. He was sitting in a corner, peeling another orange and ignoring his puppy eyed twin across the room.

"I just needed to get it done as soon as possible, Lucas!" Claus desperately reasoned; he was making a far bigger deal than Lucas was making it out to be. He was treating it like the slightly angry boy was locking him out of his life from here on out.

"I wanted to do it together..." Lucas sighed and bit into the orange. It wasn't very appetizing, and his stomach wasn't responding well to the excessive amount of acid he was taking in from the same fruit over and over again.

"I'm sorry..."

"It's okay...I'm just disappointed. You're right, though, it needed to get done," he flatly replied and continued to eat the orange for the sake of keeping up with what little nutrition that they could get. "What are we going to do today?"

"I dunno..."

Silence hung between them for awhile before Lucas randomly said, "Take a nap."

"What? I can't randomly sleep..." Claus replied and tilted his head. Still, Lucas motioned for him to come over and he listened.

"Sure you can." This time, his arms were opened for him to fall into. He could see that Claus looked flustered and even a little hesitant. Smiling at him long enough, he complied somewhat, by leaning next to him. "Why are you so against sleeping?" Lucas asked, but the flustered red head shrugged in reply. "Nightmares?" His twin nodded 'no'. "...Well, I want you to try right now." He was happy that he leaned in further and attempted sleep by closing his eyes. As he lied still, Lucas pet through his hair that lengthened quite a bit the past year. He would bring up trimming it another time.

.-.-.-.

In the late afternoon they woke up and were still deathly bored. To pass the time, they attempted to go to Tazmilly, but the road was actually blocked by pigmasks. They were _actually_ demanding them to submit to Fassad 'like everyone else'. Of course, Claus blew them away with his PSI, but only more came. He would have blown them away until they actually went along with their death threats if it weren't for thinking of Lucas's feelings and well being. He was very tired, and he felt that no amount of napping would fix this. It felt like he needed a _very_ long sleep, but he had far too much to do; and too much to wonder about if he slept that long.

He slowly and boredly sunk his teeth into another set of oranges that added a new symptom of a scratchy throat. They cleared them constantly as well as rubbed their aching stomachs. Lucas slipped up a whimper every now and then as he lied down on his side and rubbed his stomach, and Claus prayed that he wouldn't dehydrate himself with a case of 'the runs'. He done his best to relax himself by lacing his fingers between Lucas's. When he saw him open his equally tired blue eyes, he smiled.

.-.-.-.

It had been the start of day three since Claus and Lucas had eaten anything that was an actual meal.

The elder twin could swear that he and his twin could eat all the chestnuts and fruits in the forest and would never feel _properly_ satisfied. He felt pathetic at how he could barely keep balance of their lives once Tazmilly transferred to that 'side'. He refused trades the Pigmasks had offered him and thought of a new alternative.

In the forest, he walked around with a knife held in open view that was tightly held in his left hand. He had been in the forest for awhile, setting up traps for small creatures he wouldn't have thought about killing in the past. Once he set up one more, he made his way over to a bush ignoring the scratching pain from it's thorns. The scratches against his skin only awakened his senses more and were no where the level of pain he felt in his stomach.

His small and cold eyes watched a hare hop it's way over to the bait he had left in a classic rope loop. Once the hare was in the loop, Claus yanked it tightly. The rope constricted itself around the rabbit's limbs as it dangled up in the tree branch. Claus walked over to the rabbit with his hand's grip on the knife handle getting tighter the closer he gotten to it. For awhile, he watched the rabbit helplessly squirm around making the grip the rope had on it tighter.

The rabbit repeatedly squeaked and screeched as if it was begging to be let go.

Claus on the other hand thought, "Do I want _this..._?" It was tiny, and it didn't look like it'd do much for two. It didn't even have the muscle to free itself from this simple bind. He cut the rope and held the rabbit up in the air. He contended on what to do, but with a quiver of his stomach, he muttered, "You're back up..." and placed it into a hole and covered it with large leaves. He had an idea on what he wanted and where he was going to go next; it was a bit of a walk there, but he felt it was worth it. He placed the knife back into his leather pouch and headed there in a hurry.

Once he reached his destination, his stomach growled fiercely. His throat felt dry, and his heart pounded at the sight of the plump pink creatures in that fenced sanctuary of theirs. A heaven he was about to invade. He stepped into the fence as his eyes scanned for the plumpest one. He may not have eaten in days, but he was sure he could drag a carcass somewhere, cut it up, and carry it back home easily. He wore that old shirt he stitched years ago and lengthened; he dubbed it his 'butcher shirt'. The shirt wasn't the neatest looking of shirts so he didn't mind the idea of getting blood splattered across it.

His eyes locked onto one particular pig that lazed in a corner. It had a strong grunt with each breather it made in it's over weight laziness. Without thinking, Claus grabbed for it, and it's squeals displeased him. Instincts ordered him right away; he dove his pocket knife into its throat and head and dragged it out with him. The other pigs didn't feel the need to panic, if they kept their cool, he wouldn't stab them. Their idea held true as they watched the adolescent drag it away into some secluded area. Claus was satisfied with what he had 'caught' and had a nice large plastic bag to put his pieces into. He may have broke the prettiest knife trying to fight a Drago a year ago, but the largest and raunchiest looking knife had cut through the pig with amazing ease; even the bone.

He knew where a herd of chimeras were to discard the unneeded parts later, but as of now, he was content with creating ham slices and chopping the limbs. He had another bag for parts he didn't want, such as the head. The larger bag was nice and full, and he could feel his stomach rumble in anticipation and gratitude.

He had to take the long way home. 'Long way' as in, walking around main traffic and discarding the head and innards. As he slugged the bag home, he had slight regrets of picking the biggest pig, but he couldn't help himself. He felt that they could store it, he just hoped Butch wouldn't want to check people's food storages. When he reached home, even Boney's nose twitched at the scent of bone marrow and raw blood. His supplies had ran out as well. He held in his barks, as well as his feral thoughts to beg for the bones, he was sure they would give him his share soon enough and did his best to patiently wait. Lucas was waiting for him to come back when he said he was going to fix this, and he felt a mixture of emotion at that big bag. He didn't say a word and slowly directed his eyes up from the bag to his twin's green eyes.

"We have plenty of salt to cure it, and we can definitely roast most of it."

"...What is it?"

"...One of Butch's pigs." He and Lucas bit their bottom lips at the same time. The guilt they felt was synced, but their growling stomachs reminded them what they had to. "He won't notice, he's too obsessed with that bag of shiny stuff he got from Fassad for the cows."

"I hope so..." Lucas said and opened the bag. He wasn't one to look at severed raw meat, but he had to see it to believe. Even though he finished his half of the stolen nuts from the inn, the sight of the meat made him more eager for Claus to make it. The two of them had become nocturnal from their frequent napping to pass the time and pain, and that they could only function at their fullest when everyone was asleep and they were out of their way. It has finally proven to be most convenient that they could smoke the meat without being detected and still have plenty of time to do other tasks. Claus tossed Boney a bone to hold him off as he done his job.

It felt like an eternity when they waited for the meat. It wasn't finely made like a pot roast dinner, but it was certainly better than constant dosage of oranges. Boney was rather content with the bones they tossed at him, and he was clever enough on storing the extra pieces he could have for later.

"You know, I wonder when someone's going to drop by to show if they've wondered if we were still alive or not." He swallowed the last of his serving and added, "They probably hear about us from those stupid pig men come to think of it."

"Probably..." Lucas sullenly replied. "Claus...Do you miss Fuel?"

On most circumstances he would shrug, avoid the question or simply say 'not really' but...

"I wonder how he's doing..."

"Yeah..."

"I think we'll see him again someday, Lucas," Claus sincerely reassured. Fuel hadn't let them down, and he was the last person he believed in and deeply trusted, even though he had difficulty admitting this to him personally. "He always manages to find his way to us."

Lucas nodded and smiled that he was reassured. He wiped his mouth with his forearm and stood up, ready for their next task.

"The eggs of those weird snake...chicken things...Do you think we could eat them?"

Claus scratched his head and answered, "I don't see why not. They're not poisonous from what I saw on the chimera board in town."

"We should also try to hatch a few too. Hopefully...they don't turn into...things, but regular hens."

"Sounds like a plan."

Lucas grabbed his stick that Boney had given him, he's been learning how to use it. He wasn't perfect, but when the moment called for he was able to give the offending creature a warning slap with it to leave him alone. While strange, and even aggressive those 'chimeras' were, he still felt a pang of wrong when he stuck them, and grown to appreciate it just a little bit when Claus took care of them for him. It was going onto four days now, and many new and stranger creatures were popping up. Claus also read on the board that someone was bitten by a flying partially metal rat during their stroll.

He was nervous, but not frightened. He felt a lot of the energy he hadn't realized he had until he lost so much of it. His senses were more clear and he was sure to knock out some flying rodent in the sky if it swooped at them. Claus kept his hand glowing like a lantern instead of flickering like a firefly. The last time he done that, a weird unholy chimera bug chased after them, so hideous that even Claus was too horrified to fight it immediately. While he shuddered at the memory, Lucas shrieked and his weapon had struck something with a _ping_ noise.

"Whoa what was that?" He asked and directed his hand to the ground.

"...There's that flying mouse."

"Awesome, you took it out on your first swing!" Claus praised. Lucas laughed nervously and walked on ahead with his cracking wooden stick. They still had that metal one they saved for later use if this one were to wear out. They were thankful the parent of the eggs weren't around, attacking the mother would've struck too close to home and they likely would've surrendered with the amount of morals they still had and believed in. As much as they wanted to scurry away to home as soon as possible, they had eggs to be careful with.

In town that was always empty by the time they traveled it, their bags ruffled and chirped.

" _Chirp, chirp, chirp."_

Lucas chuckled, "Hey..." and opened his bag flap. "They're actually normal...!" He said and showed the bag to Claus.

"Yeah, well, let's hope the rest of them don't hatch right away. I was looking forward to omelets for once!" He snorted in his usual tough-guy fashion.

Lucas continued to gently nudge the crying baby bird with the tip of his finger as they hurried back home. They probably weren't going to get much sleep with the chirping, but it was still so...lively.

.-.-.-.

Day four.

 

They were unable to have their omelets, but it wasn't disappointing. It felt like there was life in their quiet-three-day-eventless-purgatory that they still called home. When they checked around the corner of their house, some plants had spouted from the rain from the night before. It was unpleasant how the rain seeped in some places, but their new room and bed managed to stay comfortably dry. Not everything was perfect... qhat new life they had and managed to take care of there were others they weren't able to; the sheep.

It made Lucas incredibly sad as he stroked the ears and heads of the weak sheep. He stuck to them and the area, unmoving and never stopping his comforting petting or cooing how sorry he was for them and to them. What broke Claus's spirit most was that he submitted to a trade after all. He couldn't guarantee the future of their sheep, but he couldn't bare to see them suffer like this anymore, and neither could Lucas. He could only imagine how devastated his precious twin would've been if he found them dead and there was nothing he could do for them.

The twins made sure to have kept their nightly escapades as hidden as possible from the lifters taking the sheep away. Claus had kept the sack of gold he didn't _really_ want but knew of its use from Lucas. He never seen or heard of 'DP', and he wanted to keep it that way. He rubbed the back of his weeping twin, letting him know it'll be alright and that things were getting brighter and better despite this.

"I trust you..." He sniffled.

"That I've finally realized."


End file.
